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Plans for the fieldhouse have grown out of control while the economy is faltering.

City council must start asking some hard questions. Is a $1-million increase to an already substantial $16-million budget justifiable?

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Are operations and maintenance costs for the facility, pegged at a hefty $600,000 per year, too much to bear?

Final plans for the facility, tabled last week, feature two full-sized, indoor soccer fields and a running track. But that's not all. Now a children's play area and added floorspace above it have been added to the mix, driving up the price by a cool million. Although there are plans to generate $400,000 annually in revenue by renting these spaces to the public, that's not guaranteed income.

At the same time, the city's expectation that it could acquire additional, undefined amounts in grants for energy efficiency and an environmentally sound structure are overly optimistic at a time like this. Such grant programs could evaporate very quickly as the economy continues to plummet.

Going over-budget is one thing. Building such a facility in a time when the cost of living has hit new highs, when city taxes are being increased year after year, and the city's population is stagnant or in decline - makes little sense.

The newest plans for the fieldhouse assume there will be plenty of demand for the new facility, based on the assumption the city will grow or at least stay as is in terms of population and economic vitality. The trouble is there is currently little economic vitality to be seen in Yellowknife. The territory's only significant economic motor at the moment - the diamond mines - are feeling the pressures of the world economic crisis. De Beers' layoff of 128 workers at its Snap Lake mine - 13 of them Yellowknifers - is just one sign of pain inflicted by the crisis. It's still too early to tell how many more hits the territorial economy will take. Municipal, territorial and federal government workers themselves, now insulated from the crisis, will ultimately feel these strains as well, since they rely on taxpayer earnings to pay their salaries.

Yellowknife's population has coasted since the start of this decade, when diamond mines breathed new life into the city. Even though the economy has taken its biggest hit in decades, the city's plan for the fieldhouse assumes the NWT capital will grow.

Added recreational facilities are an attraction, but without jobs, and with a prohibitively high cost of living, Yellowknife will have an extremely difficult time convincing people to make their homes here.

There's going to be more than a few people in Nunavut screaming about the call for a new arena to be built in Rankin Inlet.

After all, Rankin and Iqaluit are the only two communities in Nunavut with artificial ice and it's time for infrastructure to be placed in other communities before Rankin gets anything else.

But, while we'd love to see a new arena with artificial ice built in every Nunavut community, that's simply not going to happen in our lifetime.

And is it really fair to chastise a growing community that has proven itself to be one of the most successful municipalities in the entire territory, simply because it has artificial ice?

That's artificial ice, we might add, the municipality put its fair share towards obtaining.

Anyone who was in Rankin for the Avataq Cup this past month would be less than honest if they didn't admit hockey is at a whole different level in the community.

People were jammed into the arena like sardines for almost every game, and hundreds more would have attended if space permitted.

And it's not just about the Avataq.

Rankin now hosts a number of annual tournaments that attract many people from outside the community, including the midget territorial championship, Polar Bear Plate and Challenge Cup junior events and Powerful Peewees.

Even the Nunavut Atoms Championship sold out its final games in this hockey-crazed community.

And, above all else, there's safety to consider.

As it stands now, it's only a matter of time before an ugly situation manifests itself when the local fire chief or a representative of the fire marshal's office is forced to shut down a big event due to the maximum number of people allowed in the building being grossly exceeded.

And, heaven forbid, a fire breaks out or some other emergency happens while the arena is housing a crowd the size of which we saw during the Avataq.

Then there's the practical side to the equation.

The Rankin complex, which houses the arena, curling club, community hall and swimming pool, is old.

While the Nunavut government talks about expansion and/or yet more renovations, when do we reach the point where we're throwing good money after bad?

Not only would a new arena provide a safer environment for those who gather for community events, but it would also be a benefit to most of the Kivalliq region along with the local economy.

A new facility would attract even more people to premier events and afford local organizers the opportunity to grow them even bigger.

Let's be honest. If all we can get is money for renovations and more repairs, we'll gladly take it because something is still far better than nothing.

And we will give some credence to the argument it's time for Rankin to become tax based and take on some of its own infrastructure projects, as we've always supported that move in the past.

But, for now, it makes a lot more sense for the Nunavut government to support growth with a new building in Rankin while, at the same time, helping to prevent a potential disaster.

The Dene Nation is understandably tired of the territorial government dragging its feet on completing the Mackenzie highway.

During last month's Dene Leadership Meeting, chiefs passed a resolution to seek federal stimulus money to help finish the all-season road, which currently stops in Wrigley.

It's a lofty idea that could bring long-lasting benefit to the most Northern communities of the NWT.

The road could significantly reduce the cost of living for Northerners. It could spur economic development along the highway corridor and, of course, create numerous jobs for the duration of construction.

Curiously, the Dene leadership failed last month to recognize a significant barrier to building the Mackenzie highway: their support for a Mackenzie Valley pipeline. That support already exists among the Gwich'in and Sahtu, members of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, as are the Inuvialuit in the Beaufort Delta.

The Dene Nation, on the other hand, continues to be one of the two remaining holdouts in giving approval to the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. The other is the Dehcho First Nations. Right or wrong, the Conservative Government has linked construction of the highway to development of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. Essentially, if Stephen Harper is to be believed, no pipeline will mean no highway.

Some of the opposition to the pipeline expressed over the past few years pertains to possible environmental damage, but would a pipeline truly be any more destructive than a highway, which the Dene Nation is now proposing to build?

Richard Nerysoo, president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council, expressed great frustration at the February leadership meeting for good reason. The Dene Nation doesn't have a successful track record when it comes to economic development. "We don't think like businesspeople," he said.

Nerysoo urged quick action on highway construction as, he said, there's an absence of leadership on infrastructure development in the NWT.

Last week Premier Floyd Roland said there has been no movement on a $1 billion, 10-year partnership he proposed while in Ottawa last September.

The lack of progress, he said, is because of periods of political instability in Ottawa as well as the recession.

Perhaps Roland missed that giant headline nationwide stating the federal government is doling out billions in infrastructure money. Now is the time to be making a case for Mackenzie highway funding instead of waiting until "things settle down," as our premier said he plans to do.

Based on this poor example and based on what Nerysoo had to say, the Dene Nation knows what it has to do if it is going to spur any action on completing the Mackenzie highway — Support the pipeline.

Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq supports the Harper government's proposed legislation that would prevent female federal public service employees from filing pay equity complaints with the human rights commission.

Instead, pay equity would be something negotiated through collective bargaining between unions and employers. And if a female employee filed a pay equity complaint, the union is forbidden to support her, under threat of a $50,000 fine.

The rationale with which the government is attempting to market this rollback of rights is that taking pay equity claims through the courts takes too long.

In her defence of the new legislation, Aglukkaq referenced two major pay equity cases which took decades to resolve. One, brought by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) against Canada Post, began in 1982. It is still ongoing, as PSAC has appealed Canada Post's successful appeal of the 2005 Human Rights Tribunal decision that awarded $150 million to employees in its largely female clerical division.

The other, brought by PSAC against the Government of the Northwest Territories in 1989, was resolved in 2002.

There are two pertinent facts about these cases: one, that both were brought forward by a union on behalf of public service employees, and two, that the prime contributor to the snail-like pace of these cases tends to be the unco-operative public service, with its numerous appeals.

This has not gone unnoticed by the courts. In the Federal Court of Appeal's 2001 ruling to continue the tribunal on the PSAC/GNWT case, it stated the GNWT could not complain about the length of time the case had taken because it had been the GNWT which had instigated four judicial reviews, one after another.

Seeing as how the public service has been one of the biggest targets of pay equity claims to date, it's obvious that by forbidding employees from filing pay equity complaints through the human rights commission, the federal government stands to save itself millions in legal fees and retroactive settlement payments.

The benefit of a judicial process for pay equity complaints lies in precedence. When the Canada Post case is settled once and for all, the ruling may trigger a change in legislation, and will at the very least set the course for future cases.

The fact that Nunavut's MP, a female public service employee, supports legislation that would strip her of one her rights as a Canadian citizen makes no sense, except from a purely political standpoint.

Hearing that you're out of a job is devastating.

That's the stark reality that cold-cocked 128 Snap Lake diamond mine employees on Feb. 24.

Another 90 contractors are also out of work. As the news filtered through our city, Yellowknifers snapped to attention.

Times are tough and, while not as battered as some southern centres, we're not being spared.

Not all job loses are equal, at least from a local economic standpoint. Of the 128 people laid off from De Beer's Snap Lake mine, 13 were Yellowknifers.

Most of the Snap Lake contractors are considered to be Northerners.

Less of an attention grabber, but still very significant, word came last week that five diamond cutters and polishers at Arslanian Cutting Works lost their jobs.

Those layoffs followed the shutdown of Laurelton Diamonds, which put close to 40 people out of work.

Other sectors are feeling the pinch, too. Yellowknife-based charter airline Arctic Sunwest announced last week that it would be cutting more than 20 employees. This comes after Discovery Air axed six positions.

It's a disturbing trend in the shadow of a contracting global economy.

Many of the people who have lost their source of income live in our city. Some of them may have come from overseas to fill the jobs with their experience and expertise, but once here they bought homes, rented apartments, purchased groceries and services and paid local taxes. Every bit as important, these people and their family members represented $25,000 each ($100,000 for a family of four annually) in federal transfer payments for the NWT.

Some of those families may very well try their luck with the troubled job market down south because the North is an expensive place to live when you don't have a high-paying job. Therefore Yellowknife could easily be facing loses of millions of dollars with their departures.

That's badly needed money in this part of the country.

We still have our anchors. The territorial government, which employs thousands of Yellowknifers, is holding steady in these slow economic times, choosing not to chop jobs as threatened over the past year.

But we do not have any specific commitments from the federal government that could boost the economy in the NWT capital. Social housing money of $50 million for the entire territory contained in the January federal budget may create a blip here. Regulatory and consultation money towards a Mackenzie Valley pipeline, amounting to $37.6 million, will also be small potatoes for Yellowknife.

The headquarters of a promised Northern development agency, which has $50 million over five years attached to it, could make a substantial difference, however. Not only would basing the agency here bring new employees and occupy office space, it would attract more bright business minds and bolster Yellowknife's accommodations and service sector through numerous conferences and workshops.

That's stimulus we could use.

Interviewing children is always an interesting experience.

When I ask a question to an adult most of the time I have a fairly good idea what sort of an answer I'm going to get in return. With children there's a wild card aspect that comes into play.

Children see things from different perspectives and generally aren't afraid to make blunt comments, the kind you learn to tone down as you grow older. As a result, getting an answer from a child can be an enlightening experience.

While working on an article for this week's paper on the NWT School Curling Championship I spent some time talking with young curlers from Fort Simpson who competed in the event.

Competed, however, is almost the wrong word to use in this context. Bompas elementary school and Thomas Simpson school did send seven teams to the championship, and because they were playing against other teams it was a kind of competition. But this was not how many of the young players saw it.

Through the conversations I had with them it became evident that they were in Hay River to curl, but not because there were medals on the line.

As their coach Berni Leader pointed out, even in the finals the teams had no real concept of who was ahead in points even though the students were in charge of posting the scores. The winning team in the little rock final didn't even realize they'd won until someone told them when the game finished.

All of the games during the tournament were like that, said Leader.

The students were there not for glory or bragging rights, but because they enjoy curling and they think it's fun. This is not an Earth-shattering revelation but it is a refreshing break after two months that were full of adult sport competitions in the Deh Cho.

Adults, like children, playsports because they find them enjoyable and fun but in a tournament setting things start to change.

It's easy to see when players cross that line as they become increasingly frustrated or elated depending on how their team is doing. One team ends up smiling more while the players on the other team grimace and sometimes avoid eye contact with each other.

Sports stories about adult competitions involve words like "battle", "struggle", "defeat", "slaughter" and "victory" because, for adults, who wins and who loses becomes paramount.

It's impossible to say when or why winning becomes so important. Maybe the urge to win is always there, even in children, and it just becomes more pronounced over time until it takes most of the fun out of a sport.

Adults can recapture some of what they've lost by watching children at sporting events. Seeing the joy in their faces, regardless of whether or not they're the best player or their team is winning or losing, is enough to remind adults about what's actually important when it comes to sports.

By the time you read this, council will have already decided on the fate of bylaw #2430/L +P/07 section 5.9 (2).

Members met Wednesday to vote on whether to leave unchanged the law which bans drivers 70-years-old or older from getting a cab licence, or abolish it.

Mayor Derek Lindsay announced at Monday's committee of the whole meeting that he would be instigating the vote, throwing his support behind banning it. Since his vote was the tie-breaker that resulted in the bylaw being implemented in November 2007, it looks near certain this bylaw will be no more.

What's particularly refreshing about this story is how it got to this point. One man, Frank Fulop, who's at least 70 (though he won't tell us his exact age) was informed by the town that he wouldn't be able to renew his licence. So he challenged the people who made the law. With the help of Rob Cook, the pair arrived at Monday's meeting armed with a detailed presentation complete with the relevant section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which showed the weakness of the bylaw.

There was also a gathering of Fulop's taxi driver colleagues and concerned residents. The support present there and the growing community support for Fulop's cause influenced Lindsay's decision. It was a perfect example of democracy in action. Here was a small group of citizens banding together to enact change in an intelligent, civilized manner.

Councillor Terry Halifax made a valuable point when he mentioned there was no input from residents when the bylaw was originally voted on. Like so often is the case, residents challenge governments only when there's an urgent problem needing urgent attention.

But for any government to work at its best, for the people by the people, an active citizenry is needed. Our representatives are put into power by the people and therefore they're accountable to you.

It's hard not to empathize with Fulop, who has provided a dependable service to Inuvik residents for the last three decades. To have one's livelihood taken away strictly because of age hardly seems fair, not to mention it appears to conflict with the charter. Lindsay is right to point out that unless a cab driver has a specific impairment making them dangerous drivers, they should be free to make a living.

In fairness, governing bodies are sometimes forced to make sweeping, and occasionally seemingly unfair laws in order to deal with a recurring problem. Lindsay said reckless driving among some senior taxi drivers had become a problem and council attempted to deal with it. The bylaw was enacted after an extremely tight vote.

The mayor deserves credit for admitting he may have acted prematurely back in November 2007.

Now let's see how closely the public watches policy development on council.