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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Mayor Gord Van Tighem's biggest beef heading into the Oct. 3 territorial election is the status of Yellowknife in the eyes of the territorial government when the time comes for it to draw up its budget.

"Every year, I go through the (territorial) budget and I count how many times the city is mentioned; usually it's anywhere from one to two times," Van Tighem said. "We have the largest population in the NWT (18,700 people), and seven of 19 MLAs in the territories are based in Yellowknife, but we don't get any recognition of that fact in the big picture.

"I think it's important that candidates make an effort to push the territorial government to include Yellowknife in its plans."

An overregulated mining sector is slowing down exploration in the NWT, according to Tim Doyle, executive director of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce.

"We are a resource-based economy and we have plenty of resources at our disposal," he said. "We rely on the production of minerals, as well as oil and gas, to keep our economy going, but we are last in the world right now when it comes to oil and gas exploration, and we rank 78th in the world as far as mineral exploration is concerned. Those statistics do not reflect the rich amount of resources we have at our disposal."

Doyle said the amount of regulations "hold back" efforts to open more mining and junior mining sites.

"Every time someone wants to make a proposal for a site, there are 13 permit boards that the proposal must go through. It's a giant headache, and there has to be a way to make the process simpler."

He said removing those barriers should be an election issue.

"We could have nine or 10 mines opened up by now instead of four. The Yukon has opened up five new mines in the past year, because they have regulations in place that allow for more flexibility in terms of exploration; it would be great if the NWT could do the same thing."

He said everyone would benefit from new mines opening up, adding that existing mines account for about 30 per cent of employment in the NWT.

City councillor David Wind said something needs to be done about Yellowknife's social problems.

"More and more homeless people are hanging around in our downtown. Some look as if they haven't bathed for weeks and ditto for their clothing. Most have no visible means of support and rely on panhandling to get money for their next drink. The issue needs to be addressed," Wind said.

Coun. Cory Vanthuyne said that in order for Yellowknife's homelessness issue to be dealt with, the need for affordable housing in Yellowknife should be viewed as a crucial issue.

"There needs to be a way to address the demand for affordable housing in this city; not everyone is employed by the mines and have jobs that can cater to high housing costs," Vanthuyne said. "Also, more land needs to be freed up for housing."

Vanthuyne said the NWT Housing Corporation needs to step up and be held accountable for how to handle the situation, and added homelessness has been a contributing factor to crime in the city.

"Because some of these people have no place to go, they get into trouble. Its led to situations where petty crime and repeat offenders in the criminal system take up most of the RCMP's time, leading to less police on the street and more crimes being committed," said Vanthuyne. He added, "There are so many 'layers of the onion' when it comes to life in the North, and no easy answers."

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