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For city officials to say that waterways within city limits constitute a "grey area" is to call an apple an orange when they feel it's convenient.

Last week, when Yellowknifer pointed out that some thoughtless jerk decided Range Lake was a suitable dumping ground for his or her pet's feces and cat litter, the city's director of community services, Grant White, shrugged and said it wasn't the city's responsibility to clean it up.

He called it a "grey area," meaning it was the problem of some other level of government, presumably the federal government, which has jurisdiction over lakes and rivers, or the navigable ones at least.

After all, the city took a considerable beating when it tried to claim jurisdiction over houseboaters on Yellowknife Bay a decade ago. The city sued them because they didn't pay property taxes but the city was soundly trounced after a judge ruled Yellowknife Bay wasn't part of its realm.

Maybe that's why city officials are a little shy to tackle kitty litter on Range Lake. But wait a minute. Don't city bylaw officers routinely stop and ticket speeding snowmobilers on Range Lake, plus other frozen bodies of water within the city?

In addition, many people probably still remember when the city came down hard on a Good Samaritan who was plowing a pedestrian trail across Frame Lake last winter. Bylaw officers demanded he stop or else face being dragged in front of a justice of the peace.

So what was the city's solution? Its brain trust decided to maintain the trail itself, on Frame Lake. So the city contends it has no jurisdiction to cleanup errant doggie doo, yet it hassles trail-builders and fines snowmobilers.

For the city to leave the mound of feces on a body of water surrounded by homes and businesses only encourages more to be dumped there. Not only is the pile unsightly, having lake ice used as a pet potty can't be good for the ducks and shore birds that live on the lake during the summer, or for the young people who play along its shores.

On a related note, the mound of poop on Range Lake provides further evidence of the need for pet waste disposal bins in the city. Requiring residents to drive seven kilometres out of town to Fiddler's Lagoon to dump their pet waste only makes it more tempting for people to decide to dump it in town unnoticed.

We can sleep easier now that Russian presidential envoy and renowned polar scientist Artur Chilingarov has assured the world Russia is not going to wage a new Cold War in the Arctic.

We all know anything one of the Bear's publicity hounds speaks in public can be taken as gospel, eh?

Heck, we still believe the Czech Republic asked the Russians to come in and restore order all those years ago.

And if you had the chance to speak to any resident of the cities of Poti and Gori in Georgia (the Eurasian country, not the U.S.A. state), I'm sure they'd tell you everyone was smiling from ear to ear when they saw the Russian tanks rolling in this past year during the RussiaGeorgia conflict.

We're also sure the Russians' involvement in the conflict in support of Georgia's South Ossetia region had absolutely nothing to do with the U.S.A. and Europe supporting Kosovo's declaration of independence.

In short, the Bear has been feeling left alone in its den during the past decade and is growing increasingly cranky as its bordering neighbours continue to look to the West for acceptance and support.

Despite Chilingarov's assurances, the Bear has decided to take a long break from hibernation.

Its quiet snarls are beginning to pull back its upper lip to show there are plenty of teeth gnashing in anger behind its public face of cooperation.

The Bear is posturing, make no mistake about it, and it has its icy stare fixed firmly upon the Arctic.

Less than two years after dropping its flag on the Arctic seabed, a Russian advance team left for the Norwegianclaimed island of Spitsbergen earlier this month.

Its mission: to select the site for a station where Russia intends to put 50 polar scientists on the island.

Not to worry, though, the Russians are simply protecting their interests.

To us common folk, protecting their interests translates into figuring out how to stake a claim to the oil and gas resources scientists believe rest beneath the polar region.

It's increasingly alarming that, while Canada continues to talk about its claims to the Arctic, the Bear has begun prowling dangerously close to our frozen neck of the woods.

As we've mentioned in this space before, we've all heard Ottawa's promises to increase its military presence, but, to date, it's still just words.

It's also great that Ottawa is demanding ships sailing in our Arctic waters to register with the Canadian Coast Guard, but that still doesn't make us feel any easier about a bunch of mini-subs sailing around the Arctic seabed and Russian scientists getting almost within rock-throwing range.

And, let's be clear on one point here.

Yes, we who call the Arctic home have a vested interest in the economic benefits that would come with an increased military presence in the North.

Hello? Why wouldn't we be excited about additional infrastructure and more jobs in our region?

But more than that - much more than that - we like getting up every morning and seeing that beautiful maple leaf flag proudly flying over our schools.

It's time to see more from Ottawa than just words to keep it that way!

While many Northerners may have been alarmed by the recent attempt to fire the premier and cabinet, it was an important reminder of what consensus-style government is all about.

Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen led the charge by raising the motion but she was not alone. Eight other MLAs voted to replace Premier Floyd Roland and his cabinet. Three ordinary MLAs, one of which supported the original motion for the vote, voted against her. The rest of the seven votes defeating the motion came from cabinet MLAs themselves.

As has been stated in past News/North editorials, the ordinary MLAs hold the real power of consensus government. Yet they have rarely exercised that power other than to topple a minister for doing something unforgiveable like getting involved in criminal charges or threatening another member. Never has the poor execution of government policy united the ordinary MLAs into a credible opposition as that led by Groenewegen.

Premier Roland's government has performed poorly since day one. The intentions have all been good - fiscal responsibility, keeping housing and infrastructure as high priorities, attempting to identify efficiencies and keeping growth of government to a minimum - but cabinet's style has sabotaged their government at each an every turn.

Roland started off badly by attempting to defend the highly questionable process that led to the building of the Deh Cho bridge. It will be interesting to see how the deal will look once the present low price of steel, which was at a peak when the deal was signed, is figured in. This was followed by a failed attempt to balance the government's books by laying off scores of government employees. Then who could ignore Roland's mishandling of his personal affairs in a very public way?

Thebacha MLA and Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger has alienated a good deal of people in Yellowknife by launching a direct attack on the city's two school boards which, for decades have operated very well as elected and municipal tax supported boards. He has done so leaving every one in the dark as to the details and appears unable to reassure anyone he has thought everything out with well-researched plans and policies.

Range Lake MLA and Health Minister Sandy Lee took office with such high hopes from many quarters. Then, apparently to help people who lacked proper health coverage, took a minor health program in terms of cost and pulled the rug out from under Northern seniors not covered by federal treaty programs.

She has since admitted to screwing up but not before accusing regular MLAs of playing politics and dismissing their advice to rethink what she was doing.

Yellowknife South MLA and Industry, Tourism and Investment minister Bob McLeod came to the rescue of Discovery Air, a southern corporation with Northern assets, with a $34 million loan from a government fund only a handful of high level bureaucrats knew about. Money has never been lent from the fund before and won't be again which all seems very strange considering a newly minted Discovery Air executive was, not too long ago, a high level official in the GNWT, working beside McLeod.

Should the premier and cabinet have been fired? Time will tell.

Bringing ordinary MLAs into the process is the best way to consult the people. Win the ordinary MLAs and you win the support of the people they represent, or at the very least have eloquent defenders of government policies MLAs helped shape.

By this motion and vote, Groenewegen and the other ordinary MLAs have done their duty to make consensus government work the way it is supposed to.

In recent weeks, we have encouraged Nunavummiut who have had problems with police to come forward and lodge complaints in order to keep RCMP accountable for their actions.

However, police officers have no similar complaint process when behaviour in communities gets way out of line, short of arresting dozens of people.

In January in Clyde River, a group of people surrounded the police officers' residence in the middle of the night and, according to a RCMP constable, demanded the return of drugs that had been confiscated before reaching the community.

Luckily the situation was defused without anyone getting hurt, thanks in no small part to the mayor urging people to return to their homes on that chaotic January night.

Police officers, alone or in pairs, are tasked with maintaining order in remote communities. That's an especially daunting job in places where drugs and alcohol are rampant, and the authorities need all the help they can get.

Nunavummiut should not tolerate unacceptable behaviour from police or from their fellow citizens. Everyone is accountable for his or her actions, whether wearing a badge or not.

Sometime in March or April, Nunavummiut will receive a knock on the door. It will be someone from the community, hired by the Nunavut Housing Corporation and the Nunavut Association of Municipalities, tasked with tallying the numbers of housing units versus the number of occupants.

To solve a problem, it helps to know how bad it is.

Everybody knows housing is a critical need in Nunavut. What we don't have are the exact numbers of people who need housing.

These figures can be brought before the federal government as hard evidence of the overcrowding problem. The data should also help the government direct housing money where it's needed most.

The territories' three housing ministers met in Iqaluit in late January to discuss the situation and the money pledged for Northern housing in the federal budget.

Nunavut will receive $100 million, which is expected to fund 350 new units. Yukon and the NWT will each receive $50 million.

Though Housing Minister Hunter Tootoo welcomed the money, he called it a down payment, adding that long-term, reliable funding is the best way to address the shortage.

As the Yukon minister pointed out, more short-term money wouldn't do any good up here, because the small pool of labour can only build so many units at a time.

Nunavut needs a steady flow of money for housing, and needs to target it smartly.

So when the knock on the door comes, speak up. Tell the surveyor what he or she needs to know.

If the information provided doesn't eventually help solve Nunavut's housing crisis then nobody in Ottawa is really listening.

NWT's jails will finally follow the rest of the country by completely banning smoking on their premises on April 1, which is good news for inmates and the territory.

The ban follows the same policy adopted by federal institutions on April 30 last year. It's yet another lost freedom for anyone who breaks the law and is thrown in jail, and it's hard to muster sympathy over the loss of such a "privilege" for a criminal.

The smoke-free policy must be complemented by smoking cessation assistance, nicotine replacement therapy, and other activities - such as new skills training and recreation - to keep inmates busy. Only then will the ban be fully successful.

An obvious benefit should grow out of this: inmates will be forced to break free from cigarettes, an addictive product. They will learn they can overcome an addiction, and be better prepared to be productive members of society once they get out.

The world outside, after all, has largely gone smoke-free, and is not at all reflected in the prison environment where the smoking rate without bans is thought to be as much as 80 per cent, according to health and non-smokers rights groups.

Prisoners smoke to kill time. The ban is a constructive first step to eliminate wasted time and straighten out lives wasted on addictions.

The City of Yellowknife was recently honoured as Canada's most sustainable small city for the second year running, but at least one of its methods of going green comes with its own costs.

The honour was bestowed by Corporate Knights, a Toronto magazine whose staff rates cities by factors including social well-being, infrastructure, economic security and ecological integrity.

Indeed, the city appears to be working to leave a modest ecological footprint. Its efforts range from an anti-idling bylaw to EnerGuide guidelines for homes, which encourage residents to meet stringent energy standards. The latter guidelines, however, create inflated building prices, in turn making life in Yellowknife less inviting. A city as transient as Yellowknife needs to work on such an issue to sustain a healthy population, perhaps by offering some sort of financial relief to people who meet the EnerGuide criteria.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem credits the city's lack of sprawl to planning and the geography surrounding Yellowknife. There's some truth in that, but what he didn't mention are the ongoing First Nations' land claims which keep the city from expanding.

The City of Yellowknife should be proud to have hung on to this sustainable community honour two years in a row. While the focus on the environment shouldn't change, creating affordable housing also has to remain a top priority.

It often takes an accident, generally a tragic one, to highlight a problem that's been simmering quietly in the background.

An accident of this nature occurred last week in Fort Simpson when a Trout Lake resident died after being hit by a vehicle while walking along Highway 1 near the village. Although the RCMP is still investigating the details of the incident the basics are known.

Fred Jumbo was walking towards the village and was near the second turn off to Nogha Heights when he was struck by a Ford F150 pick-up heading in the opposite direction. The collision occurred at approximately 10:05 p.m., well after the sun had gone down.

The RCMP hasn't released the cause of the accident but it's easy to point out at least two factors that may have played a role and need to be addressed.

Pedestrians, as well as vehicles, use the highway that leads off the island past Nogha Heights and as far as Wild Rose. In the more temperate months it's not uncommon to see a person or group of people walking or riding their bikes beside or on the edges of the highway.

Some of the residents are out to get a bit of fresh air and exercise while others are walking to reach a destination either in the subdivisions or back on the island.

Seeing these people on foot during the day isn't a problem but at night the only things that illuminate the road are vehicle headlights. There are only two streetlights along that stretch of highway, one set back at the first entrance to Nogha Heights and a second at the entrance to Wild Rose. That leaves a lot of dark road in the middle. Although they should, not everyone wears reflective material while walking in the dark and that makes them hard to see.

The Department of Transportation is responsible for the maintenance of the highway. According to officials, the department will be reviewing the accident to determine if anything can be done to improve safety. They will also be taking into consideration any concerns voiced by community members.

With the recent accident in mind, the community should be asking for streetlights to be installed along that section of the highway, or at least on the areas surrounding the subdivision.

While lighting would help to make the highway safer all residents with drivers' licences also have a personal responsibility to play.

Once you reach the top of the hill coming off the island the speed limit changes to 60 km/h until after Four Mile when it increases to 90 km/h for the rest of the highway.

A speed trap with a radar gun would prove that almost everyone is guilty of pushing the speed limit in that area. Although speed has not been cited as a factor in the accident, people tend to ignore their speedometer. The reasons vary from being in a hurry to get somewhere to allowing their speed to creep up in anticipation of the 90 km/h change. Speed limits are put in place for a reason, not just as guidelines.

The death of Fred Jumbo was tragic and unnecessary. Both the residents of Fort Simpson and the Department of Transportation have roles to play in ensuring that the appropriate lessons are learned so that similar incidences can be prevented.

There's been some grumbling around town about council's proposal to do away with plastic grocery bags.

But it's awfully hard to feel sorry for those who say it's an inconvenience to have to bring your own bag grocery shopping. Especially when you consider the current problem this town faces. Our streets and yards are strewn with them.

On the other hand, many I have heard support the idea. Whether we think retail stores should provide reasonably priced canvas bags to customers, or we should dig out the backpack, we uniformly agree they should be banished.

Council's plan is to encourage retailers to sell canvas or other biodegradable bags. Mayor Derek Lindsay said the ugly "plastic bags" would be history in a year's time. In the meantime he's giving residents a chance to adapt to the coming bylaw. Bylaw officers are even being sent to the schools to educate the kids.

Really that's what is needed. Obviously there should be an enforcement component to the program. But people must be taught just how destructive these nasty things actually are. The fact that they're made from crude oil and natural gas, both non-renewable resources, and take 1,000 years to decompose should be more than enough supporting evidence.

Then there are the endless stories of animals swallowing them and subsequently starving to death. Now take into account that annually there are anywhere from 100 billion to as many as one trillion of them being used worldwide.

The ban is quickly being implemented across the country with several large Canadian and American grocery chains promising to cease handing out free plastic shopping bags. In fact, there's a similar push happening in other countries such as South Africa and Ireland where they've imposed stiff taxes on them.

The grocery store I frequented last year abruptly banished its plastic bags one day. I was left with a pile of groceries and no bags in which to carry them. As is the deal with most chains, there were canvas bags for sale for a couple of bucks. Admittedly it was a tad annoying being forced to buy my own grocery bags. But I did, and soon saw the forest for the trees. Plus, they make a pretty good gym bag. And yes, I cleaned the bags regularly.

The simple solution is providing customers with reusable canvas bags. The Town of Inuvik needs to ensure that all residents, regardless of their income be supplied with a sufficient number. Then its bylaw needs to be strictly enforced.

But the solution ultimately rests with the people. By collectively adjusting our habits in a small way for the sake of the environment, we can make big change. Through that process we might develop a stronger environmental awareness, which most of us are in dire need of.

In Friday's Yellowknifer, Feb. 13, in "Man held shotgun to his head during standoff with police," the total sentence given was 12 months in jail, with four months credit for time served.

Yellowknifer apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion the errors may have caused.