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The NWT shares a great deal with Albertan communities - an education curriculum, weather service, family ties and, most importantly, a reliance on Edmonton for serious medical emergencies.

Last week, Danielle Smith, leader of the Wildrose Party of Alberta, said she would oppose the closure of Edmonton's city centre airport. Losing access to that facility would mean medevac flights would be rerouted to the international airport, which, when including extra distance for ground transportation to the hospital, could add 30 minutes to patients' journeys. That could be the difference between life and death.

Other leaders - municipal, aboriginal, provincial, territorial and federal - must make or keep making their voices heard to Edmonton city council, arguing against the closure.

The city may contend that it needs to prioritize its own health services and finances - it's seeking to cut $50 million from its $2 billion annual operating budget, according to the Edmonton Journal.

However, in providing health services to the North, Edmonton cannot forget it receives extra funding from the federal government due to its capital city status.

Patients in need of urgent medical care not available in the territory rely on Edmonton's hospitals and the quickest possible route to critical health services.

There can be no moral or rational justification for putting lives at risk.

The Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority has propelled its way to better its financial standing over the past year.

At its annual general meeting held earlier this month, it was announced the authority has put a $117,000 dent in its accumulated deficit, previously totaling $367,000. The financial shortcoming now sits at $249,256, with the aim being to balance the books.

Although there is still more work to do, the health body is showing signs of success due to sensible planning and money management. A prime example would be the amalgamation of three medical clinics into the one Yellowknife Primary Care Centre on 48 Street, which opened its doors in June 2010.

The health authority has made some other tough calls in the name of savings, including the decision of suspending Yellowknife's midwifery program in May, which was an unpopular decision with some residents. Despite petitions and protests outside the legislative assembly, Les Harrison, the authority's chief executive officer, stood by the choice, stating the program was unsustainable but will be looked at again in the future.

With a dent in the authority's deficit, some resources can be shifted toward other necessities, such as the management of diabetes and obesity rates, which are among the highest in the country.

Having a stronger handle on the authority's deficit will open the doors to other possibilities to improve the health-care system in the city. This will be done step by step, but so far Yellowknife's health authority seems to be on the right track to a healthier bottom line.

The jerseys were out and all manner of clothing adorned with team logos across the Kivalliq this past week as a new NHL season began.

The excitement belied the fact it was only the start of a marathon NHL schedule for one simple reason: game one featured the Habs going up against the Maple Leafs.

Very few games - playoff, regular season or international - evoke the type of good-natured ribbing seen in the Kivalliq when devoted fans of Montreal and Toronto run into each other on a game day.

That may ring even more true this year, as the vast majority of long-suffering Leafs fans think this is the year their beloved team will finally begin its move back up the standings, inching ever closer to contention for Lord Stanley's mug.

Only time will tell if that's the case, or if it will turn into yet another season of wishful thinking for Leafs fans.

One thing is for sure, with yet another rule modification concerning bodychecking, more physicality will be removed from the game.

At least two NHLers have gone on record during pre-season action to say it's going to reach the point where there will be no contact left in the game, because players will be too afraid of suspensions to actually bodycheck anyone.

Let's hope that's never the case.

I caught a bit of a spiel on Northern radio this past week, although I didn't catch the name of the man being interviewed, that had my hockey blood boiling.

Let's get something straight for guys like him.

Pretty much everyone is in favour of making the game safer to play, but not at the cost of turning it into no-contact shinny.

And, this guy, once again, used the example of Olympic hockey to make his case for how beautiful hockey can be sans fighting and rough play.

There is no comparison or example given by those who want to remove fighting and hard hitting from the game that makes me angrier than when they refer to the Olympics - and they do it time and time again.

They, obviously, believe the majority of hockey fanatics have the collective IQ of those portrayed in the cult classic film, Slap Shot.

Sure Olympic hockey is fun to watch, but it's a mirage that happens when you have the vast majority of the world's best players on six teams for two weeks.

When those who want the rough stuff removed from hockey convince the NHL to contract down to six teams from 30 - and convince the NHLPA those other 552 pro spots are meaningless - then they can bring up Olympic hockey as a fair comparison.

And any contention of removing fighting and rough play from the game will, eventually, lead to 30 teams full of Olympic-calibre players is pure poppycock.

That is, unless you equate Alexandre Daigle-type players dangling around with no fear of physical contact to Olympic-calibre athletes.

It would also be interesting to see how long people would keep paying to watch Olympic-style hockey, if that's all that was being played.

Once every four years it's an exciting spectacle, but, on an ongoing basis, I'll take the Leafs vs. Canadiens every time - at least as long as you're still allowed to knock a puck-carrying Smurf off the biscuit in the NHL.

While many Yellowknife voters couldn't be bothered to get off the couch to exercise their democratic right during the Oct. 3 election, most NWT communities made their voices heard last Monday.

Voter turnout in the capital was an anaemic 34.2 per cent while the rest of the territory seemed more engaged with 60.6 per cent of voters casting a ballot.

Where not a single Yellowknife riding was able to muster more than 40 per cent of the electorate to the polls, only two of the 10 contested community ridings were below 50 per cent. Ridings such as Monfwi and Inuvik Boot Lake had the highest turnout with 86.7 per cent and 83 per cent respectively.

As in past elections, most of the incumbents -- all but one -- were reelected. However, a few of those incumbents shouldn't see their re-election as an endorsement of their past performance but a second chance to prove they can do better.

Thebacha's Michael Miltenberger, who some have called a favourite for the next premier, not only squeaked back into his seat with an eight per cent margin over Peter Martselos, he won with less than 50 per cent of the vote -- only 43 per cent of his riding supported him; more than 77 per cent of Thebacha voters cast a ballot.

In Monfwi, Education Minister Jackson Lafferty edged out Bertha Rabesca Zoe who was hot on his heels all night on Oct. 3. He defeated his challenger by 61 votes - 10 per cent of the constituency - in the most engaged district this election.

Prior to the dropping of the writ this year, the legislative assembly was neck deep in hot-button issues, most of which stirred public dissent.

Devolution and the Wildlife Act were two of the most heated topics of discussion and mostly because the public felt a disconnect from its government.

Many argued public discussion was lacking and the consultation with aboriginal leaders and governments insulting.

Ironically, as much as our MLAs argue the value of consensus government, they seem to fail at trying to work toward agreements beyond the doors of the legislative assembly.

This next assembly has a lot of work ahead of it.

The Wildlife Act must be passed; a devolution deal needs to be forged in consultation with aboriginal governments whose land supplies much of our resource wealth; our regulatory regime must be simplified and long, outstanding board appointments made; and that is on top of the everyday responsibilities of ensuring quality education and health care.

It's time our MLAs learned from the mistakes of the past. If a Wildlife Act can't garner enough support to become law after 10 years of work, something is wrong.

There will be five new faces in the assembly this term and hopefully that will mean fresh ideas and a new way of doing things, a way that includes more respect for the people of the NWT and a willingness to bridge the gap between the GNWT and aboriginal governments.

Our government must stop spinning its wheels and remind itself who it works for and gauge their election report card not just on whether they won, but by their level of support as well.

For most people, bananas and toilet paper aren't exactly the first things that spring to mind when discussing Nunavut's growing business opportunities.

Those commodities were examples, however, provided by Hal Timar, executive director of the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce, when referring to supplying a future mine in the territory. The 6,000 employees at the Mary River iron ore site are going to need those items and many others. It's an opportunity for Nunavut entrepreneurs to get a piece of the rich pie by positioning themselves to distribute merchandise and services to the booming mining and exploration sector.

There's millions or tens of millions of dollars to be had for those who can capitalize on the needs.

This is the sort of direction that is provided each year through the Nunavut Trade Show and Conference, which was held in Iqaluit Sept. 27 to 29.

It's not just the mining industry that's represented, there are plenty of networking opportunities for artists, traditional food producers, tourism operators and others.

The show is actually struggling with its own success. This year attendance was up 10 per cent from its best previous year, with 400 delegates and 100 exhibitors. It's pretty well as large as Iqaluit can accommodate, according to Timar.

That's just one more challenge to overcome for Nunavut's crafty business minds.

Best known for her heavenly singing, Susan Aglukark used her voice to speak on behalf of students while in Iqaluit Sept. 27.

She advocated a homework program while speaking at a sparsely attended meeting in the capital city that evening. The idea is for volunteers and teachers to gather in a home once each week to give students a safe environment to do their homework. The program is called Kamajiit.

The initiative she is championing never caught the imagination of residents in Cambridge Bay or Rankin Inlet either.

While disheartened, Aglukark, who was raised in Arviat, is not showing signs of giving up on the program.

Persistence and determination can make all the difference in getting it off the ground - that and perhaps a little modification.

Instead of relying on teachers and volunteers - groups that are too few in number and stretched too far already - Aglukark should urge that older students act as mentors for their younger peers. This would give the elder students a sense of accomplishment that could be rewarded with school credits or even a modest honorarium.

It might also encourage a few promising youth to embark on a path to an education career.

"Commuting (by public transit) makes every bit of sense if it's practical" - city councillor Robert Hawkins, May 10, 2002.

The above quote from former city councillor, now thrice-elected Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins, illustrates how long city officials have been wringing their hands over the lack of interest from residents in using public transit.

To boost ridership, Hawkins suggested the city offer it for free. That didn't go over well with fellow councillors though, who argued it wouldn't be fair for taxpayers to foot the entire bill, especially when the city was already subsidizing public transit to the tune of $200,000 a year.

Last year, the city's transportation improvement study - included in the city's recently unveiled 2010 draft General Plan - found that bus ridership in the city remained abysmally and consistently low at one per cent for those who commuted to work between 1996 and 2006.

The subsidy, meanwhile, has climbed to $700,000 a year - about 66 per cent of what the city budgets annually for public transit.

Clearly, the city's attempts to promote and encourage bus ridership are not working. It also doesn't make financial sense to operate a transit system that costs $3,684 a year per rider, if we are to use the transportation study's numbers.

This doesn't mean we should abandon public transit but having big, hulking buses lumbering around the city without any passengers is not consistent with city hall's portrayal of Yellowknife as "green city." Not only is it a waste of money, those huge buses are hard on our roads and the diesel fumes they produce can't be good for the environment.

The city ought to ask its contractor, Cardinal Coachlines, about putting smaller, more easy-to-fill buses on the road when it sits down to talk about contract renewal next year.

As for encouraging more ridership, Mayor Gord Van Tighem touches on a good idea with his suggestion that buses should be outfitted with GPS transmitters so riders can track their location online instead of waiting around in the cold for one should it be late. The tracking system could also be extended to automated phone lines or digital signage in bus shelters.

Our cold winters and inability to provide bus service more than every half hour or hour works against our transit system's appeal.

Knowing they don't have to wait when they head out the door to catch the bus will improve rider confidence, and hopefully the number of users will finally start to climb.

The election may be over but campaigning, unbeknownst to some voters, is just beginning.

Our newly elected or acclaimed MLAs, all 19 of them, now have the task of choosing a premier – all behind closed doors. It's up to voters to decide whether it's going to stay that way.

In a story published in News/North last month, readers learned a little bit more about what this process entails and, to be honest, it's not all puppy dogs and rainbows.

One incumbent called it "backroom shenanigans," describing the favours and secret alliances that happen in the weeks leading up to the secret vote for executive council.

"The public never knows what the nature of these discussions are. They're in the best interest of the member, not in the best interest of the public and that's the problem," said Dave Ramsay, who was re-elected in Kam Lake Monday.

Now that democracy has done its part, NWT voters are supposed to sit back and have faith our politicians will keep our best interests at heart once they're in the legislative assembly.

What I say is this: now that the politicians have a few weeks to mull over their vote, let your voice be heard.

Michael Nadli, who beat out Michael McLeod in the Deh Cho riding, and Kevin Menicoche, who beat out Bertha Norwegian in Nahendeh, did a great job at getting out to hear constituents' views in the months leading up to Oct. 3. Give them a call, send them an e-mail – heck, shoot off a fax – and tell them who you think should be steering the government for the next four years.

A premier and six cabinet positions need to be filled. Before the election, Michael Miltenberger, Jackson Lafferty and the three McLeods occupied these roles. Perhaps the most important appointment for voters in Deh Cho and Nahendeh is the minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Before the writ dropped on Sept. 4, Robert McLeod was overseeing the government's shelter policy review – an in-depth look at the state of housing in the NWT coupled with some proposed changes to the current program.

He was acclaimed in the riding of Inuvik Twin Lakes on Monday and is heading into his second full term in the legislative assembly.

During the election campaign, housing was at the forefront in both Deh Cho and Nahendeh. Each candidate expressed a need for change, but the fact is the minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation holds most of the cards and the premier steers the ship.

We have no way of knowing who our MLAs choose for that important role and whether or not subsequent cabinet posts are traded for votes.

With in-house campaigns heating up, now is the time to change that.

Congratulations to all four candidates who ran in the Inuvik Boot Lake riding.

What a close election between Chris Larocque and Alfred Moses, with Moses coming out the winner by only five votes.

Grant Gowans and Paul Voudrach did not receive as many votes, but they deserve respect and acknowledgement for their efforts.

Living in Yellowknife likely hurt Inuvik-born Gowans, but he showed he knew the community and the issues and could put in the work. If he moved to Inuvik now and ran again in four years, who knows how the outcome would look.

Voudrach is also "from away," having lived most of his life in Tuktoyaktuk, except the past four years spent in Inuvik. He showed much passion and had some excellent ideas for homelessness and mental health addictions.

While Larocque may have had the lead coming into the election as Inuvik's deputy mayor, Moses slowly and surely pulled enough support around him to take the lead.

Moses may have benefited from the ennui of political and economic talk supplied by Larocque. Moses stimulated enough people to believe in his passion. By focusing on social issues and the health of the people and an eventual healthy economy, Moses appealed to both sides of the political spectrum.

To lose by five votes cannot be a good feeling and Larocque is likely thinking many should-haves and could-haves, but he definitely tried as hard.

One more fact to note is that all candidates campaigned in a fair and respectful manner, which may have been boring for the newspaper business, but was nice to see in reality.

Well done, gentlemen. You can rest easy that you worked hard and are respected.

Family violence awareness

From Oct. 2 to 7, organizations around Inuvik will work to increase awareness about family violence.

The territorial Family Violence Awareness Week has a theme this year to call on men to not only stop violence but to stand up against it. What a brilliant focus. Instead of alienating the men and focusing on the women, hopefully men, women and children can work together to stop abuse.

While women do need to know about safety plans, ways out and how to avoid situations in the first place, men need to know they are not all blamed and they can do a lot to stop gender violence.

The NWT Status of Women Council created a top-10 list of things men can do. These ideas include approaching the subject as a men's issue; don't remain silent if a male friend is abusing his partner; look inward and question your own feelings; and teach young boys to respect women.

Hopefully by looking at the problem of family violence from all sides, a solution can be found.

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