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Nearly 8,000 aboriginal people in the NWT over the age of 15 do not have a high school diploma, representing almost half of that demographic's total population.

In comparison, a little more than 2,100 non-aboriginals -- only 12 per cent of that population -- in the same age bracket are without a high school diploma, according the NWT Bureau of Statistics.

The statistics are alarming and point to an urgent need for more programs, funding and awareness to help improve the academic success rate of aboriginal students.

Earlier this month, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment signed a declaration with the Dene Assembly to create a partnership to help close the education chasm between aboriginal and non-aboriginal students.

Since 2001, the number of aboriginal graduates in the NWT has been steadily increasing. In 2009, 222 aboriginal students received a high school diploma compared to 106 in 2001. Although a marked improvement, ECE still reports only 44 per cent of aboriginal Grade 12 students are graduating compared to 70 per cent of non-aboriginal students.

The Department of Education's Aboriginal Student Achievement plan outlines strategies and pilot projects that have been initiated in various NWT communities. Aside from improving access to education, the plan also tackles key areas such as attendance, parental education, nutrition and incorporates aboriginal culture in the classroom.

This latest declaration could prove to be the biggest step to ensuring the Aboriginal Student Achievement plan is successful. Garnering the support and input of the aboriginal leadership will go a long way towards building the trust needed to engage the First Nation community in the territory's education system.

It is vital that this partnership is supported by the necessary finances, culturally-aware educators and programs to make a real difference.

Northerners will head to the polls this October to select the members of the next legislative assembly.

A few candidates, including incumbents, have already announced their intentions to run.

Now is the time to consider whether a role in territorial politics is right for you. There are many issues facing Northerners and each constituency has a variety of needs and concerns, ranging from health care and education to housing and utility rates. Improving our territory and the quality of life for all NWT residents takes the dedication of a responsible and accountable government. Declaring your candidacy is as important as casting a ballot.

In the 2007 election, three of the territory's 19 constituencies were won by acclamation, meaning only a single person vied to represent those regions. Ideally, there will be a race in each constituency this year.

Voting turnout sends a strong message. The number of votes a candidate wins or loses by is, essentially, a constituent's report card for incumbents and sets a mandate for new MLAs.

Aside from the number of candidates vying for seats, demographics are also important. We need our assembly to represent the diversity of the NWT. Of the 55 candidates in 2007 only 10 were women and of those, only three were elected.

If you're planning to run in the upcoming election we encourage you to announce your intentions early. Putting your name, face and ideas out there sooner could improve your chances.

About 130 people die in Nunavut every year.

The remains of those who die in Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit are stored in the facility's morgue. In most of the rest of Nunavut's communities, no such facilities exist.

Bodies may be picked up by the same hamlet staff who deliver water and pump out sewage. They get stored in a variety of makeshift places such as the garage of the RCMP detachment, a hamlet cooling unit or once, regrettably, in a community's country food freezer.

This is a less-than-ideal situation in terms of the dignity and security of the deceased, as well as for public health.

Some hamlet workers are livid that the Department of Health and Social Services hasn't stepped up to take charge of this necessary service. Hamlets aren't responsible for handling births in the community, so why are they being tasked with caring for the dead?

This issue will only become more and more pressing as the population grows, and as Nunavummiut become more mobile. Nowadays, people travel for medical treatment, for school and for work. Family members elsewhere have to make arrangements to fly in, and funerals are delayed until they arrive - in the case of Resolute, sometimes up to two weeks. Safe storage of the deceased in the meantime is essential.

The Nunavut Association of Municipalities has asked the Government of Nunavut to provide an inventory on the status of existing morgues. The association also wants the GN to address the lack of morgues in most hamlets. For its part, the government has stated its intention to eventually equip each nursing station with some kind of morgue in which to store the dead prior to burial.

That's news grieving families will be happy to hear, as long as the work begins sooner rather than later.

This year's edition of the Alianait arts festival gave Iqaluit what it had asked for: a shorter, more intense festival with more music.

Despite being compressed into three days instead of spread out over a week, the festival retained its laid-back charm and still managed to wow audiences with its dynamic diversity.

By day, workshops and events took place under the circus tent and by night, musicians from around the world and from just around the block performed at the main stage at Nakasuk School.

Any festival board has a lot of people with differing interests to please. Alianait attracts Iqaluit residents, Nunavummiut artists and those from elsewhere in Canada and abroad, as well as tourists from all over.

Shortening the festival will also, in time, help draw more visitors. The cost of accommodations and meals in Nunavut is astronomical, so spending three days in Iqaluit rather than a week significantly reduces the costs for travellers, making the trip far more attractive.

Many emergency protection orders have come and gone without any backlash.

As of April of this year, 469 had been granted while 33 were later cancelled - that's since the NWT legislation came into existence on April 1, 2005. Since then, only one case, as far as the Department of Justice is aware, has resulted in criminal charges for perjury against the person who applied for the order.

Surely many of those documents signed by a justice of the peace and a Supreme Court justice have forced the separation of couples who were destined for a violent eruption. No judge wants to be the one to deny the order only to have the applicant be brutally beaten at the hands of his or her spouse a short time later.

Justice officials, often relying on a man's word versus a woman's word, tend to err on the side of caution. That would explain why the 469 emergency protection orders were endorsed out of 529 applications -- that's an 89 per cent approval rate.

Then along comes the recent case of a 40-year-old Yellowknife man who successfully fought to have the emergency protection order against him dropped. He told Yellowknifer he suffered "three months of hell" in the process to clear his name. He also said he lost thousands of dollars as he chose to hire a lawyer in filing his appeal.

His situation involved a woman who claimed they were in a relationship, which he refuted all along. At a hearing to state her complaint, the 32-year-old woman could not correctly spell his last name, give his proper address, didn't know his age, height, weight, the names of his two children, couldn't specify where he had tattoos and piercings on his body and did not correctly identify his place of work. She also admitted they did not live together.

Yet the justice of the peace approved the emergency protection order, in place for 90 days and preventing the man from being within three metres of the woman.

The order was forwarded to a Supreme Court justice, who granted it.

Now, a complainant may be nervous during a hearing and may not remember every detail, but a failure to recall so many basic details should have been a red flag.

This case did not force the man to leave a shared residence since the two were not cohabitating, and it did not deny him daily contact with his children since they weren't raising any together. Other cases do involve such circumstances.

This man's plight should, at the very least, bring about two results: justices of the peace should make a greater effort to assure details are solid, or at least recommend a further investigation ASAP; and those inclined to file an emergency protection order should be aware that providing false statements can bring about charges of public mischief and perjury.

Our justice system is not foolproof. Too often in Yellowknife we have spouses who are assaulted by their partners and we need to offer them a measure of protection. However, we also must do our utmost to ensure we do not create a second victim due to a lack of care or diligence when such allegations are thrown around recklessly.

It's that time of the year again, the time when the Deh Cho becomes a tourist destination.

In Deh Cho communities it's not hard to pick out the tourists. In communities where everyone knows everyone else it's nice to see a few new faces.

In addition to being unfamiliar, tourist's clothing choices can also make them stand out. In Fort Simpson, at least, the majority of tourist walk the streets looking as if they're ready to jump in a canoe or go hiking in the woods at any minute. Considering that many are in the village to reach the Nahanni National Park Reserve it all makes sense.

Their choices of vehicles can also be a dead giveaway for tourists, the most obvious being RVs. Few, if any, people in the Deh Cho own a full-size RV, so when you get caught behind one on the highway they might as well be flying a flag that says tourist.

Non-local licence plates are also a tip-off. Vehicles with plates from any of the states in the United States are normally filled with tourists.

After you've spotted them the question is what to do next.

The best answer is strike up a conversation. Sharing a few polite sentences serves a number of purposes.

Firstly, chances are the tourists in question have come a long way to be in the Deh Cho. Those of us who live here can admit that the Deh Cho has its draws, but few of us choose to spend our vacations here. The burning question is what drew the tourists here.

Two weeks ago while on the Merv Hardie, I talked to a tourist who was taking photos of the Deh Cho Bridge. Her licence plate was from Maine and I commented she was a long way from home.

She and her husband were on a summer-long road trip. The Northwest Territories was somewhere she'd always dreamed of coming since she was young.

For residents of an area or community, it's always surprising to hear the place where you live and take for granted is part of someone's dream trip. Finding that out is like receiving a compliment.

While a casual conversation with a tourist can help you look at the Deh Cho with refreshed eyes, it also helps ensure tourists will continue to come back. Tourism is not a core industry for the region but it is important and with some luck, and work, will grow.

The Deh Cho prides itself in being welcoming and it's important to include tourists in that feeling. A smile on the street or a wave as you pass on the highway will help keep the Deh Cho in tourists' travel plans.

Yes, that's right. Election talk.

Yet another election, you ask? So soon? Didn't you promise there wouldn't be another one for years to come after that one in May?

Sadly, yes, another election is on the books, set for Oct. 3. This one, however, is one step closer to home. The territorial government will change for the first time since 2007 and with Floyd Roland stepping down from his position as both premier and the representative for the Inuvik Boot Lake constituency, things can get interesting for Inuvik residents.

While NWT residents are never separated by much from their politicians, this election will have an impact because so much is changing. Roland has held the constituency of Inuvik Boot Lake for the past 15 years and, with him in power for the last four, it's going to be an interesting race.

But what Inuvik Drum is really excited for is a chance to start harassing/motivating people to get all their documents in order so they can exercise their democratic right to vote. It seems like maybe Inuvik doesn't need much motivation, since in the 2007 territorial election, 94 per cent of voters turned out. Well done! But it's you last six per cent that we want to reach.

This year, changes are in place for ways of identifying yourself, which means if you haven't got yourself organized with an NWT driver's licence or identification card, this is your warning. You've got just more than two months to get that organized and unless Canada Post does another lock-out, you should be in luck.

It's also important to register. If you don't know if you're registered you can do so online at the Elections Canada website. Type in a bit of personal information and it's as easy as that. Registering now means you won't have to do it later.

Other things to keep in mind before the actual election hype starts is that there are many different ways to vote other than on election day. If you want you can visit the returning officer Ð the person who oversees the election in each constituency Ð at their office between Sept. 21 and Oct. 1 and vote there. If you know the returning officer, you don't even need identification. For Inuvik, they are Arlene Hanson and Juanita Bourque.

There are also the advance polls, held on Sept. 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Beat the lineups and rush in there to get 'er done.

If you are or know an elder, someone in hospital or someone who has mobility issues, they can vote through the special mobile poll. These people will have the polling station come to them.

The candidates you vote for in the territorial election are closest to the funding that can affect your community, so make sure you have your say. Get organized now so that it won't be a hassle in October. and make Inuvik proud by having as many people turn out as possible.

Conflict in the Middle East is nothing new. It's an ancient land home to diverse groups of people who have long fought for the right to live in freedom and, in some cases, simply to survive.

Canada, by contrast, for much of its history, has been a relatively peaceful country - a place where people from the Middle East and around the world choose to come because of the opportunities that exist, including the chance to leave conflict behind and live in peace.

Yellowknife has evolved into a centre that is just about as diverse and multicultural as anywhere in the country, or on the planet.

That means, for good and for bad (mostly good), we are affected and influenced by bigger, global issues - including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the geopolitics of the Middle East. And it means that, in return, in a world made smaller by technology, we also have the chance to influence people living and working elsewhere.

Recently, a prominent member of Yellowknife's small Jewish community openly attacked the Yellowknife group Focus on Palestine for what she describes as its anti-Israel, anti-Jewish agenda -- which, she further contends, either directly or indirectly encourages anti-Semitism.

The issues tackled by Focus on Palestine are not without controversy. But the group also prides itself on being open and on welcoming diverse perspectives as it works, in its words, to raise awareness, promote peace and pressure the Canadian government to adopt Middle East policies that are "fair and just."

Being open, raising awareness, lobbying ... that, most Canadians would agree, is the way we go about trying to change things in this country, and beyond.

In that sense, there could just as well be a Focus on Israel group in Yellowknife. Not only Israelis or Jewish people could belong, but anyone interested in learning more about the region, people, culture and/or religion - and what could be done to promote sustainable peace in the region.

That's the beauty of Canada, and Yellowknife - the exchange of ideas we can have here.

The Yellowknives Dene faced a dilemma in finally undertaking a Ndilo paving project decades in the making: get the job done on time or delay the task while seeking workers from the community.

The latter objective prevailed, but has caused frustration for some residents.

Community members celebrated the historic agreement that the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and the City of Yellowknife signed last summer when the two parties agreed to split the cost of the $1.4 million paving project.

Ndilo Chief Ted Tsetta was adamant the project would be carried out by the people of Ndilo, not by outsiders taking local jobs away from the community. The contract was given to Det'on Cho Corporation, the Yellowknives' economic arm, allowing the band to employ its own people alongside a Yellowknife engineering firm.

An initial project start date was set for July 15. That date came and went and no action was seen on the dusty roads.

Roy Erasmus Jr., president and CEO of Det'on Cho Corp., blamed the delay on turnover and people being away on holidays.

To satisfy local jobs in the community, proper training needs to take place so the stalling of future projects is less likely. Creating an employee database and offering continuous training programs are necessities to ensure the community's workforce is prepared and its leaders are aware, well in advance, of what resources they will have on hand.

Well, valued readers, by the time you're reading this I will be enjoying my summer vacation in Cape Breton, N.S.

A few glorious weeks of spending time with my mom and daughter, while fixing up the old homestead, and then back to Rankin for another year at the helm of Kivalliq News.

I leave you in the more-than-capable hands of Yellowknife reporter Nicole Veerman, who will steer the ship until my return.

I look forward to seeing everyone in September, but a month away from another hockey season in the Arctic's hockeytown of Rankin Inlet.

Mentioning another year of hockey in Rankin makes for the perfect segue into yet more rule changes for the upcoming season.

Teams and coaches can expect to see players sent to the sin bin this year even when they make accidental contact with an opponent's head area.

A slow-down to the crack-down on any form of physical play in today's game seems nowhere in sight.

I rarely watch the so-called TV specials dealing with all the reasons why more and more physical contact should be removed from the game because it's become pointless.

However, a few weeks ago I was having trouble calling it a night and, while surfing TV channels to find something to pass the time, I came across part four of just such a series on one of the sports channels.

Bored, with nothing better to watch, I tuned in for a while and, as it turns out, I was glad I did.

A couple of the show's well-dressed talking heads were analyzing the information given during the program, when one started in on the old-school culture that still, apparently, runs the game.

The gist of his tirade was the difficult time those who want to make the game safer to play have getting their points across to these old-school thinkers.

I cannot quote the guy verbatim (hey, it was late), but I sat there with jaw hanging down and mouth open in bemused disbelief as he talked about bringing more changes to the rules in order to further eliminate physical play.

He was actually quite smug in his delivery when he stated emphatically the fans don't want it, the players don't want it and the teams don't want it, so it was up to others to make it happen.

And there you have it: the perfect encapsulation of the we-know-what's-best-for-you mentality behind hockey's endless stream of mega rule changes year after year.

Many of these same deep thinkers would have you believe the crackdown on all the rules and the removal of more and more physicality from hockey has opened up the game, and we now have far more offence than we did in the dreaded dead-puck era before the 2004-05 lockout.

Surprising then, that the Ottawa Senators scored the most goals per game the year before the lockout with 3.20, while the Vancouver Canucks were the best in the NHL this past season with 3.15.

Not exactly what you'd call blazing progress, although the NHL did have one 50-goal scorer and one player with more than 100 points.

Hockey will always be loved in Canada, but the game is changing.

And, while there can be little doubt some of the changes will make it safer, only time will tell if they'll actually make the game better!

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