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Where else can one send their children to university for practically nothing, get to work in less than five minutes and drive for miles over winter ice to see caribou wander through the hills?

The answer, of course, is Yellowknife. There has been a lot of gloom and grumbling lately about the high cost of living, the soaring heating bills and the prospect of increased taxes. But stacked one against the other, Yellowknife is still pretty hard to beat when compared to other Canadian communities.

Consider this: According 2005 Statistics Canada figures, at $63,417, Yellowknife is by far the highest per capita wage earning city in the country.

The NWT also has some the lowest personal income tax rates in Canada. In fact, only Nunavut residents pay lower taxes.

An NWT resident earning $50,000 a year can expect to pay 19.01 per cent of their earnings in federal and territorial taxes. Compare that to 24.44 per cent for the same wage earner in Quebec or 20.58 per cent in neighbouring Alberta.

On the education front, Yellowknife students are some of the best served in the world. Not only is the graduation growth rate for NWT high school students out-pacing the rest of the country since the last decade - 13 per cent - but graduates here - and their parents -- enjoy some of most stress-free student financial assistance programs in the country.

A non-aboriginal student who goes to school in Yellowknife through Grades 1 to 12 can expect six years of post-secondary education entirely paid for through basic grants and forgivable loans.

Of course, there are many aesthetic reasons why Yellowknife is a great place to live. If one's preference is for a ton of kitschy restaurants and stores then Yellowknife is probably not the place to be. But for those who enjoy the outdoors, Yellowknife is THE place to be.

Few places in Canada allow such unfettered access to wilderness areas for camping, fishing and hunting.

While southern Ontario residents can wait months and even years for a camping permit to a provincial park, an enjoyable wilderness trip away from civilization is only minutes out of town here - without the red tape.

The same can be said for the winter enthusiast. Little effort is required to put on a pair of skis and head out onto lake or take a snowmobile down the countless trails spreading out from the city.

Yellowknife is an expensive place to live but it's also one of the richest. The lack of population growth in recent years is troubling, and that is why our various levels of government must ensure tax rates remain competitive, plus make better efforts to attract people to come here to live.

The fact is, the gloom and grumbling isn't just a Yellowknife preoccupation.

News this week that Canada is in recession shows that trouble abounds wherever one casts their eye. People thinking about leaving may want to consider this before packing up and heading south.

Last week the Liidlii Kue First Nation was confronted with a serious issue.

On Nov. 4, a petition with 125 names was dropped off at the band office in Fort Simpson. The petition calls for the removal or the resignation of the chief and the entire council. The number of names on the petition, while not exceptionally large, is enough that this matter needs to be handled professionally and not simply dismissed.

The leadership was scheduled to address the petition during the council meeting on Nov. 12. Concerned members of the band are also being advised they can air their grievances during a membership meeting scheduled for Dec. 3.

Band membership now needs to decide on a course of action. According to the band's election code, if a quorum of 25 per cent of residing voting members vote 60 per cent in favour at a general or special membership meeting it's enough to remove chief and council. Petitioners also have the burden to prove the leadership has violated the band's code of conduct.

Before members decide on this course of action there is at least one item that should temper their decision. That item is the number six.

Six is exactly how many full months Chief Keyna Norwegian and the band council have left in their existing three-year term until the scheduled elections arrive in June 2009. Six months, or half a year, is how long people would have to wait before they can vote for new leadership of the Liidlii Kue First Nation.

Norwegian has close to nine years of experience being part of the leadership of the band. Between 2000 and 2003 she served as the sub-chief. She was elected to her first three-year term as chief in 2003 and voters returned her to the position again on June 15, 2006.

Anyone elected in back to back terms as chief must be doing something right. Now this doesn't mean that Norwegian's time in leadership has been perfect.

Those who created the petition allege Norwegian has been making unilateral decisions without consulting the band council or membership. This might be true and if so it will likely become apparent to more and more people as they investigate the matter for themselves.

Six months, however, is a relatively short amount of time and is certainly much less trouble than a forced leadership change could be. If proper procedures aren't followed members of the current leadership could be given grounds to challenge the matter indefinitely in court. The case of the Salt River First Nation in Fort Smith provides a timely example of how messy a leadership struggle can become.

If Norwegian has done what the creators of the petition claim then it would be far easier to keep a close eye on her for the rest of her term and then make their point heard by electing a new chief in June.

Although waiting for the next election might not feel as satisfying, it would be a responsible and straightforward course of action.

In the province where I grew up, one major chain of grocery stories had outlets that were open 24/7, including Christmas and Labour Day. The only exception was Remembrance Day.

As I write this I can see that at least one business in town couldn't resist opening for holiday hours. While I'm not naming any names, I can say I will be firing off an email to the head of that company as soon as I file this editorial.

There is always essential work that has to go on every day, but I don't see how you can make the argument that retail services are in any way essential, at least not in a 24-hour period. Doing without shopping for a day is the absolute least we can do to remember those who sacrificed everything so we can live in this land of plenty.

Remembrance Day should not be treated like any other holiday. If it falls on a Sunday, we shouldn't be taking Monday off in lieu of the potential day off we missed. Remembrance Day is meant to serve one purpose: to honour those who served and those who died for our freedom.

There isn't a single Canadian citizen who does not owe a debt of gratitude to those who served or are serving this country. There is always a tiny minority of peace activists that decry the so-called glorification of war that takes place on Remembrance Day. They should remember in stating their misguided opinion that thousands of men and women gave their lives so they could be free to voice it.

Their opinion is misguided because I have yet to attend a Remembrance Day service where we are not reminded that there is no glory in war and death. I heard it again today at the service held here in Inuvik. If you were there, I was the one standing near the front, holding a camera and wiping my nose with my sleeve. I'm not ashamed to say that I get a lump in my throat every time I hear In Flanders Fields recited.

I guess as a writer I can't help but think of what was said by the French philosopher Voltaire: "I may disagree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it."

I'm overcome with the thought that people have fought to the death for this right, and I pray that I will never be called upon to defend it in battle.

To those of you who have served or continue to serve our country: thank you.

- Brodie Thomas is interim editor of Inuvik Drum. Dez Loreen will return in two weeks' time.

When Kivalliq News broke the news on the hamlet of Arviat's financial woes, I wrote in this space (Blue collars can expect to be tightened, May 14), that it would be the working people who paid the price for the sea of red ink soaking the hamlet.

At the time, Arviat estimated its deficit at a little more than $300,000.

However, we went on record as saying it would be significantly higher and found out shortly afterwards it was, in fact, more than double that amount.

Now Arviat's deficit is about $1 million and, as predicted, four hamlet employees were laid off earlier this month with four more likely to come.

A number of other positions remain vacant until the deficit can be recovered.

With recent estimates at the two-year mark for recovering the deficit and four layoffs already announced - council members' promise about six months ago to take a cut in honoraria following next month's municipal elections seem rather humorous, in a dark sort of way.

Almost as humorous in all of this, in a very dark sort of way, was Nunavut Employees Union president Doug Workman's ah shucks attitude over the loss of jobs in Arviat.

Workman tossed out a little less sympathy for those who lost jobs than one would expect from a union head.

He then added insult to injury by happily pointing out the hamlet of Arviat had, at least, honoured its new collective agreement that came into place this past spring, at about the same time the hamlet's financial woes kicked into high gear.

The part of the agreement Workman was alluding to was the retroactive pay the union got from hamlet negotiators during collective-agreement talks.

And, while Arviat's deficit may have been inching upwards since 2005, roughly $400,000 comes as a result of retroactive pay.

It must have been even more entertaining for the government of Nunavut (GN) to hear Workman talk about the union's efforts to make sure the GN supplies adequate funding so a similar deficit situation doesn't happen again.

I'll be the first to admit I don't often take the GN's side, but the government does supply adequate funding to keep hamlets from finding themselves in deficit situations.

When a deficit does occur, you can rest assured it almost always results from bad decision making, as in Arviat's case.

Maybe the GN can create a slush fund to help out in times like this.

It could be called the hamlet got snookered fund and be used to balance the books anytime the union does its job in collective negotiations by pushing a municipality to the brink of insolvency.

There's a mighty big difference between ensuring your members are treated fairly and biting the hand that feeds you.

In the meantime, more Arviat families are bracing for the news their livelihood could soon be taken away from them.

Maybe Workman will find the time in his busy schedule to give them a call and explain why the latest collective agreement hammered out in Arviat was such a good thing.