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The territorial government is taking advantage of tough economic times to promote sports fishing lodges in the NWT.

Readers of the Globe and Mail may have noticed two-page colour advertisements in the weekend editions of that newspaper.

It's not a bad idea considering that the government only paid a fifth of the usual $50,000 price tag for an ad in a national newspaper that boasts the second highest circulation in the country. Another ad is slated to appear in the April 4th edition.

The ads give a helping hand to a $17.5 million industry that needs some assistance.

Yet, the advertisements are telling in what the territorial government is not promoting. Instead of anticipating the future of tourism, the government is delving into the past, to an industry that peaked 40 years ago and has been in a long, steady decline ever since.

A 2005 Statistics Canada survey found the number of people who actively took part in sport fishing nationwide dropped by 25 per cent from 1995.

While trying to aid a tourism sector in decline is not a bad idea, the government also ought to be looking at those tourism possibilities with the potential to grow.

The GNWT has paid much lip service to "rubber tourism" in recent years but has failed to deliver. Yet general touring, dominated by road travellers, accounts for a third of all visitors to the NWT. During a recession that number is likely to grow, although cheap airfare spurred by WestJet's arrival in May is bound to make some people consider flying.

Either way, the Fred Henne campground is packed all summer in the best of times. Yet nothing has been done to alleviate the pressure. A plan to build an RV park near the city was shelved two years ago.

Industry, Tourism and Investment is planning to build another loop at the Reid Lake campground this summer but that park is used primarily by Yellowknifers, not tourists. Highway 3 at the North Arm of Great Slave Lake, meanwhile, remains without a campground, meaning visiting motorists to Yellowknife must drive more than 300 kilometres in between campgrounds.

That's why a few more campgrounds and other roadside attractions, coming at reasonable cost, can benefit us now. People looking for a cheaper summer vacation might be more inclined to drive north and camp than get on a plane for Disney World and pay a princely sum for a hotel.

People can drive the family van up North, take a side trip to a fishing lodge if they choose or just explore otherwise. Why not advertise that?

The proposed 1,200 kilometre allweather road to Manitoba was back in the spotlight this past week when it was discussed during the Kivalliq Chamber of Commerce's annual general meeting.

One of the slowest moving projects known to man has almost reached the stage where its business case study is completed, and some people are ramping up hopes again by talking about construction starting in the next five years.

This project has been kicking around for a decade or more now, but we're sure the detailed routing study, which is the next link in the chain to making the road a reality, will go a whole lot quicker than the business plan study.

The $1.2-billion cost (which is a very conservative number) is expected to be shared by Nunavut, Manitoba and the feds.

The Government of Manitoba has longsupported this project publicly, and why wouldn't it?

Let's be honest. The Kivalliq is a great customer for the province of Manitoba and it isn't about to say too much to anger the big Northern goose that sends so many golden eggs its way annually.

But many on the inside insist the Manitoba government has never been more than luke warm, at best, towards the road since day one. Add in today's economic climate, and you'll have to excuse us if we don't start planning our first road trip to Churchill right away.

We're not about to start rehashing the old prosandcons argument about the road.

Suffice to say increased tourism, reduced transportation costs and job creation far outweigh the perceived risk of bootleggers and dope dealers barrelling down the road.

The second detriment to the road happening anytime soon is the cost of maintaining it year-round, estimated in some corners to be about $4 million per year.

The grand plan calls for most of the maintenance jobs to go to Inuit and First Nations, which is a good thing.

However, the plan also calls for maintenance to be done on a regional basis, and that might prove a little more difficult to pull off when you consider some of the parties, most notably on the Manitoba side, don't even talk to each other let alone agree to work co-operatively on a project of this magnitude.

Finally, there doesn't appear to be any dedicated individual to this project who even remotely resembles Alvin Hamilton and his dedication to the Dempster Highway back in 1957.

Even if there was, he or she wouldn't have the same political backing Hamilton had in then prime minister John Diefenbaker, who shared his vision of opening the North.

In fact, Stephen Harper leading a country on the brink of a recession is almost the polar opposite of the Diefenbaker-Hamilton tandem.

And even the Dempster sat abandoned for about 10 years after the first 72 miles were built, before finally being completed in 1978. It officially opened the following year.

It will be a glorious day for the Kivalliq if and when the first day of construction on the road to Manitoba actually begins, but we strongly advise against making your travel plans just yet.

The GNWT's announcement that it is planning to spend $2.5 million to send people to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver begs one question: what for?

Although we agree the NWT should stand side-by-side with the rest of the nation to represent Canada, it's just as important that more prudent spending be observed and the type of people who go are carefully considered.

As it stands, the territory's spending for the Winter Olympics is more than half of what it took the City of Yellowknife to host the 2008 Arctic Winter Games.

It seems odd the GNWT could scrape together a mere $700,000 towards the 2008 Arctic Winter Games - the North's premier athletic and cultural showcase - but somehow find three times that amount for an event that has little direct benefit for the NWT.

If the idea is to send a host of senior bureaucrats, MLAs, ministers and their entourages to the Olympics, then let's put a stop to it right now. No more than three people is all the NWT needs to represent the government. They do not need aides, baggage handlers or people to make them coffee.

Besides, their presence should be secondary. Any money spent to send representatives to the Olympics should create a contingent that proudly demonstrates our territory's rich culture, artistic and musical diversity and our success in winter sports.

In other words, we should be sending artists, singer/songwriters and top performing athletes in traditional and contemporary winter sports.

No matter who gets on a plane for Vancouver, the number should be kept within reason.

The territory is staring hard economic times in the face, just like the rest of Canada.

Dozens of NWT-based jobs have been slashed over the past several months, mines are delaying projects, mineral exploration spending is down. The ripple effect is wide-reaching.

The GNWT needs money for many health and social services programs, to improve education and should be prepared to assist the ranks of the unemployed, should that number continue to grow.

For the time being, Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger has opted to take on a territorial deficit.

If and when he again proposes to raise taxes or cut programs as a result of budget shortfalls, he and his legislative assembly colleagues will surely be confronted with having thrown away $2.5 million on the Olympics hoopla in B.C.

They better reconsider now.

Racism has no place in the legislative assembly. Period.

Whether ministers are Inuit or non-Inuit should not be the focus of how they manage their departments.

Unfortunately, the way Iqaluit West MLA Paul Okalik chose to attack Environment Minister Daniel Shewchuk's ability to handle his portfolio has overshadowed the substance of Okalik's message.

Okalik is right. The seal industry is under threat and the government needs to do more than send out press releases.

Stern letters do little overseas to spur movement on Inuit issues. Nunavut is so remote, it's easy to ignore. Looking European parliamentarians in the eye and asking them to defend a decision that would take food from the mouths of children of struggling Northern families does much more.

But Okalik's assertion that the current Environment minister is not qualified to defend the seal hunt because he is not Inuk threatens to overshadow any valid points he raised. His message risks getting lost in his discriminatory approach.

So far Okalik has refused to apologize for the remarks he has made in the legislature. But whether he apologizes or not, he should put the mud-slinging aside and focus on the issues at hand, because the Nunavut government needs his expertise.

As a politician, Okalik is plain spoken and pugnacious.

In his time as premier, pelt prices were rising due to a renewed fashion interest in fur. But when the seal hunt was threatened by Paul and Heather McCartney's much-publicized protest on the East Coast in 2006, Okalik came out swinging.

In Europe to talk to parliamentarians about climate change in 2006, the former premier told reporters seals were "our daily basic diet -- we can't grow potatoes ... It's something we require to continue to survive and it's far more nutritious than what is imported from southern Canada.

He added that the seals Nunavummiut hunt are "not those fluffy, cute things that you see on TV all the time, that these (conservation) groups use to try and kill the sealskin market."

We urge Okalik to continue fighting for the interests of Nunavummiut and holding the executive accountable for their actions, or lack of them, so long as MLAs' ancestry stays out of the debate.

Every city has its distinctive landmarks on the skyline. Yellowknife, the central city of the North in every sense, has one - the Robertson Shaft headframe.

It can be seen from just about any clear vantage point in the city, and is the unmistakable marker of Yellowknife on the horizon. To boaters on Great Slave Lake and pilots flying into the NWT capital, the 250-foot tower serves as a sort of beacon and welcoming signal.

Even though it no longer serves any practical purpose, the headframe is recognized by Yellowknifers as a part of the city's heritage. The Con Mine site upon which it is located is a tangible reminder of Yellowknife's gold mining past. The city was built on such mines, and wouldn't it be wonderful if we could preserve it as a monument?

Trouble is, despite consensus among residents that the structure should be preserved, no one has shown how that can be done without unduly burdening the city's taxpayers. That's already happening as the city is investing time, effort and money in trying to save it in response to public sentiment.

U.S.-based Newmont, which inherited the headframe when it bought Miramar Mining, must demolish the structure next year as part of government regulated clean-up. Only an investor with cash or an organization with a sound business plan can keep that from happening.

No amount of sentimental lobbying will save the tower.

Move over Yukon Arctic Ultra, there's another racing quest heating up the North.

Just three-years-old, Yellowknife's Rock and Ice Ultra has quickly become a much sought after event by adventure racing enthusiasts from around the world.

This year's 82 competitors hail from as far away as South Africa and Australia. All of them were keen to ski or snowshoe the lakes and winter trails coursing around Yellowknife.

The longest event, the Diamond Ultra, takes racers on a punishing and bone-chilling six-day jaunt over 225 km of ice and snow-covered shield country.

In a time when economic uncertainty has left other community events feeling the pinch, race organizer Scott Smith and company have been able to attract big sponsorships from the likes of BHP Billiton, Matrix Helicopters and Arctic Response.

The race's success shows that it's never a bad idea to think big, and that Yellowknife's isolation isn't too great an obstacle if the idea is exciting enough.

The icing on the cake this year is that even with a large contingent of international competitors, Yellowknife skiers Mike Argue, Thomsen D'Hont and Craig Scott managed to claim top honours in the Diamond Ultra, K-Rock and Cold Foot Classic races, respectively.

May the Rock and Ice Ultra reign for years to come.

The Dehcho First Nations (DFN) currently has a number of associated committees that deal with economic matters. During the Dehcho Economic Forum, held in Fort Simpson from March 16-17, representatives from around the region examined which of the committees should be distanced from DFN so they can focus on what they were created for - business.

This was an interesting concept for the Deh Cho because it seems that in the region, everything is permeated by DFN's politics. While the forum was the first step on this path of separation for DFN, it draws attention to the larger question of how politics are affecting the region's overall economic development and business atmosphere.

It's no secret that the Deh Cho isn't exactly booming with economic developments. Sure, every once in a while companies score contracts when new bridges and buildings are being constructed, but most of this is driven by government spending. There is little in the way of independent industries.

One thing the Deh Cho does have an abundance of is natural resources. This economic development path, however, is fraught with peril, as many companies have discovered.

If the Deh Cho were a motel, the sign by the road wouldn't be flashing either vacancies or no vacancy for potential business developments, it would be much more complicated. Beside the word vacancy there would be an asterisk directing your attention to a note that would explain the development may or may not be acceptable all based on a variety of factors that can change from day to day.

Some of the uncertainty surrounding what types of developments are acceptable and where will be solved when the Dehcho Land Use Plan is implemented. In the plan, the Deh Cho is clearly divided.

Even with the plan, it's unlikely natural resource development will ever gain full support.

In the Deh Cho, politics is bound tightly to culture and that includes the responsibility to protect the land and the water.

While the Deh Cho Economic Forum was an interesting exercise, it needs to be taken a step further. While examining its own links between politics and business, DFN also needs to engage in a larger conversation to identify what kind of economic developments would be suitable for the region and how to entice them here.

One of my first assignments after landing here in Inuvik a couple of months ago centred on the residents of Tsiigehtchic and their frustration and outrage at not having a permanent RCMP officer in their community.

Being fresh to the area, and from a place where the police were always just around the corner, I was surprised.

That shock turned to anger when I found it can take upwards of two hours for officers to arrive from Inuvik or Fort McPherson when there's an emergency. That's inconceivable to me. What's almost as inconceivable are the constant excuses coming from the territorial government that they don't have the cash to fund full-time police officers in communities like Tsiigehtchic and it can't get any more federal funding.

Meanwhile we supposedly inhabit a land chock-full of minerals and diamonds, and oil galore. As far as the feds are concerned, the Mackenzie pipeline is within reach. But yet there's just not enough money to provide these communities with reliable police protection.

The obvious question remains how a community can cope without the reassurance of timely RCMP response. Maybe I'm way off here, but I would be willing to bet Inuvik can afford to sacrifice one, if not two of its police officers and still be OK.

I guess it's where you're born in Canada that determines if you get reliable police protection. If you live in Toronto, there's a squad car every few blocks. So is a life more important in Toronto than in Tsiigehtchic? That's what it really boils down to.

I can't believe the issue hasn't incensed people to riot across the North. Forget supplemental health benefits and board reform. What have you got if you can't pick up the phone and call 9-1-1? Oh right, you can't do that either here. But you know what I mean.

Some people probably thought Tsiigehtchic might finally lure a cop to its community after a brutal stabbing death on Canada Day last year, but the issue has since faded away. Some residents are still upset but it appears they are wailing vainly in the wilderness.

A story in Monday's News/North tells of a man charged with murder being given a judge's permission to travel back to Tsiigehtchic to attend his mother's funeral on March 17. There's good reason to believe there was no RCMP supervision in the community at the time.

Anyone thinking it's just a local problem is wearing blinders. Pretty soon, perhaps, communities such as Tsiigehtchic will close up shop. Sadly, for some who have the power to provide such a basic yet essential service, they may like nothing better than that.