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Holding true to the status quo, MLAs selected our premier and cabinet in a secret-ballot process on Oct. 26.

That secretive process was heavily criticized by a good number of people during the 2011 territorial election. Another blow to government accountability was the fact Bob McLeod became the third consecutive NWT premier to lead the territory after gaining his seat by acclamation. Again, not a single vote was cast by the people of the NWT to decide the top job in our government. We're counting on forward-thinking MLAs to insist that the selection process for premier is thoroughly reviewed.

The debate of how McLeod gained the premiership aside, of the three who let their name stand for the job, he is arguably the safest choice.

Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger has built a reputation for being a rigid leader who doesn't necessarily take public input into consideration. He was removed from cabinet in 2006 after making a "threatening" gesture towards Yellowknife MLA Dave Ramsay in what was said to be an intimidation tactic to stop him from asking questions.

Kevin Menicoche has had his own troubles over the years. In 2008, he came under fire after $1,300 worth of unauthorized charges were put on a GNWT credit card during a trip to China with an aboriginal business delegation. What the expenses related to was never publicly revealed but Menicoche did pay back the money. He also narrowly avoided personal bankruptcy in 2005 when he reached a deal with creditors to reduce more than $160,000 worth of debt.

Born and raised in Fort Providence, McLeod has two decades of public service under his belt, which can be a blessing as much as a detriment. With so many years of government experience, he is well-versed in the inner workings of the territory. Although that experience gives him insight to navigate red tape, it also might make him prone to accept the status quo. If he is going to be an effective leader, he will have to challenge the established way of doing things.

However, one encouraging comment on McLeod's premiership has come from Dene leader Bill Erasmus who said "I think our (aboriginal) leadership is comfortable with him being in office as the premier." It's a ringing endorsement considering the Dene Nation says its relationship with the GNWT is at an all-time low. Our premier will need to rebuild the government's ties with aboriginal government, especially if he hopes to reach a devolution deal this term.

As for our next cabinet, it is unfortunate no women MLAs will be managing portfolios, but it is good to see three rookie cabinet ministers crossing the floor. Yellowknife MLAs Glen Abernethy and Dave Ramsay along with Tu Nedhe's Tom Beaulieu will hopefully bring new ideas to cabinet. We hope Beaulieu continues to champion the need to improve housing in the territory as he stated as priorities during both his campaign and during his pitch for cabinet.

There is a lot of work ahead for the 17th legislative assembly and the public is demanding this government be more accountable and transparent than the last. Only time will tell if the injection of five new MLAs and three new cabinet members will improve on past failures.

South Baffin MLA Fred Schell danced a fine line and was caught crossing it.

Having been promoted to cabinet prior to the integrity commissioner's finding, Schell must now make sure he stays firmly on the ethical side of that line.

Norman Pickell, Nunavut's integrity commissioner, found Schell guilty of sending an intimidating e-mail to a territorial government employee while Schell was a regular MLA in 2009, which, according to Pickell's report, contained "demands and threats." In the e-mail, Schell wrote that his lawyer was ready to take a matter of the GN siding with the Hamlet of Cape Dorset, in a dispute between the hamlet and Schell's company Polar Supplies to the "next level" unless the department corrects its errors. He also passive-aggressively stated he was "looking forward to your support in making sure that the hamlet starts to treat us fairly."

The fact there was already friction that had previously been brewing between his company and the hamlet adds gravity to his comments. That friction led to a court case in April of this year, though by that time, Schell had put his company in a blind trust. As a regular MLA, he was not required to hand over the reins of his company, though he did so in late 2009.

Although he had been able to retain operational control of his company, that does not negate the status he attained when he became an MLA.

Regardless of the nature of the dispute between his company and the hamlet, he should have known better than to be hostile with the GN in pursuit of his private interests - this inclination may come naturally as a businessman, but when he took public office to represent South Baffin, which includes Cape Dorset and Kimmirut, he gained power and the responsibility to use it in the best interests of his constituents, not for his own personal gain.

Nevertheless, it is reassuring these matters led to a finding of guilt by the integrity commissioner. Matters like this prove the value of that system in maintaining transparency and, of course, integrity in the territorial government. As well, when the report was tabled, Schell did not shy away. Though he claimed he did not think he was in the wrong at the time, he ultimately accepted the findings publicly.

Findings of guilt, however, are just that, and the legislative assembly should think very carefully of public perception when deciding whether or not to exact punishment in this instance. The system has worked thus far, but consequences are necessary to discourage this sort of conduct.

Pickell did not recommend Schell lose his cabinet seat. He suggested a $500 fine, an apology and refresher on existing integrity rules would be fitting. The minister should jump at the chance to make whatever amends are deemed necessary. He must view this incident as a wake-up call as to how he should be conducting himself as an MLA.

There's no doubt Les Rocher and his Homes North company have played a critical role in bringing affordable housing to Yellowknife.

More than a few people over the years, including some on city council, have complained about the perceived lack of aesthetic appeal of his modular homes and his "blast and build" development methods.

What was forgotten amid all this high-mindedness was how tight the real estate market was in January 2005.

The situation was so dire council was forced to rezone Phase VI to allow Homes North to lay down its steel-framed homes on about 60 lots there. Many people in the city were angry at council for that, especially after a Supreme Court ruling the year before determined that the city's development appeal board erred in allowing changes to the development scheme without council approval. There was a feeling that the city was bending the rules while sacrificing development standards to push through Phase VI.

Despite the initial outcry, Phase VI worked out reasonably well in the end. The homes sold quickly, mainly because it gave home buyers a lower priced option in a tight real estate market. Certainly, the housing situation would have been a lot worse had Rocher and his supply of pre-fabricated homes not been around to meet the demand. Bearing this in mind, consider Homes North's latest request for a subsidy to build a new modular home subdivision near Kam Lake with 178 lots.

The city calculates Homes North's subsidy request at $3.8 million, more than triple that offered for Niven Phase VI. The request includes $700,000 for parks and trail development, $685,000 for off-site tie-ins for water infrastructure from Bourque Drive and Demelt Crescent, $650,000 to install power lines underground, and $1,850,000 for paving, curbing and sidewalks.

Homes North is required to pay for all of this under the city's new land administration bylaw, passed into law in October of last year, which states all new development in the city must proceed under a policy of full-cost recovery.

This means that every inch of asphalt, and every sewer pipe and power line installed in a development is paid for by the developer, who presumably would pass the cost on to whoever buys these properties.

It wasn't too long ago that the city did provide subsidies, and naturally Homes North would like to see a return to that arrangement. Homes North can argue with certainty that full cost recovery will lead to higher purchase prices for its modular homes, possibly putting them out of the reach of modest home buyers. The city will argue that the subsidy adds an unfair tax burden to Yellowknife ratepayers, a more than 17 per cent increase, according to the city's figures.

While there was a 12 per cent "transitional" subsidy in place for Phase VII of Niven Lake, the cat is already out of the bag on full cost recovery.

Highstreet Developments' Copper Sky Niven Heights project on School Draw Avenue and in Phase VII were built with full cost recovery, and both projects - consisting of rowhousing and condo units in the $200,000 to $330,000 range - are selling like hotcakes.

For city council to give Homes North a subsidy now would put the city in an impossible position with Highstreet Developments and any other developer who's already proceeded under full cost recovery.

This may put a wrench in Rocher's plans for Kam Lake, but council will lose all credibility if it begins fiddling with development rules it struggled long and hard to pass, despite the above-noted past contribution of our homegrown developer.

Are boys in the Deh Cho being left behind?

That questioned was posed to me over the weekend and although I'm unsure of the answer and its implications, I do know that across the NWT girls and women have more support than ever before.

There was the territory-wide Family Violence Awareness Week. There are prenatal classes, classes for new mothers and in nearly every school, girls are edging out boys academically.

We have had a Status of Women Council of the NWT since 1990, but in those 21 years its counterpart hasn't been formed. Why is that?

The reverse argument is that family violence rates in the NWT are still five times the national average. Three out of four single parents in the territory are women, according to the council, and just two out of our 19 MLAs are women – so why not give girls everything that we can give?

There are enough programs out there; men just need to take advantage of them.

What I say is this: the social problems that plague our communities are fueled by drugs and alcohol, among other things, and we need strong men and women working together to combat them.

There is a need for more shelters, and more protection for families escaping family violence, but there is also a need for a place for the boys to go.

This year's theme for Family Violence Awareness Week was "Calling all men to stand with us! Stop family violence" – but some men need help standing.

On Saturday nights is there a place to turn -- to gather and hang out and talk -- that isn't the bar, the Xbox or the bingo card? The result is that so many men, too many of them, are ending up in trouble and in jail.

After spending an hour at a judo class for students in grades 4 to 7 in Fort Simpson on Saturday morning, it was clear to me that there needs to be more programs created that are catered to boys.

There were girls that attended the class too, and they thrived, but it was amazing seeing how the boys reacted to the activities. They got to play, wrestle, jump around and be horrendously rowdy. There was a strong, kind, male role model there to guide them, and they were in heaven.

I don't know where the solution lies, but I can guess it starts with men. Take initiative, be a role model, volunteer in your community and, perhaps above all else, have the courage to ask for help.

The safety net we've created to support women in the territory is far from perfect, but it's come a long way. Now is the time for us to start helping men.

By the time this paper comes out, the cabinet and premier of the 17th legislative assembly should be selected.

Just prior to Inuvik Drum's press deadline, Yellowknife MLA Bob McLeod was chosen as premier and Nunakput MLA Jackie Jacobson was named Speaker.

We, the public, don't know who voted for who and their reasons why. It's not really clear why this secretive process is such a sacred tradition or why we, the public, can't choose our leader.

Some MLAs have argued that if the public trusted them enough to elect them, shouldn't they trust them enough to choose a leader from among them? That kind of misses the point, however. This is a democracy, or so we like to think. We should be able to choose our own leader.

With party politics, we know if we support this party, then that corresponding person will be the leader.

The candidate can represent territorial or national views as well as local interests.

Inuvik was lucky in the last election that Floyd Roland, from Inuvik, represented the territory. We knew he would always have a little compassion for the Beaufort Delta.

It did work in our favour, but now what? Premier Bob McLeod is not from our area. How will we know that he'll represent us up here?

That's an argument for the current system. If the vote went to the public, wouldn't Yellowknife candidates automatically win because of its population?

Who knows, but that's not really the point. The point is that something is wrong with the system. The constituents, the people, are not happy about it. According to an online poll on the Inuvik Drum website, 72 per cent of respondents want to see the premier on the ballot next to the candidates.

This next assembly should take a look at the election process and what changes they could make, although the likelihood of that happening isn't so positive.

The process worked for them. All we ask for now is to make the process more transparent. Get rid of the secret ballot and give the residents of the NWT enough respect to show us how the vote went.

When a problem is clearly communicated and nothing is done about it for years, one has to wonder whether there is any will to address it at all.

That's the situation at the upper level of Centre Square Mall where the construction of an access ramp for wheelchairs and parents with strollers has supposedly been on the agenda since 2009 but nothing has come of it.

Skepticism among many has grown to an all-time high, and for good reason.

Mall management, on behalf of Halifax-based owners Royal Host Hotels and Resorts, supposedly spent much of 2009 and part of 2010 waiting on a contractor.

Then much of the past year was spent debating finer points of the design with city hall.

The mess was dumped in the lap of fire marshal Steve Moss early last year, perhaps prematurely. He has been made to look like he wields little power. He issued an order for the mall to have the Franklin-Avenue ramp in place as of June 30, 2010 but then cut the mall some slack on the deadline.

Why hasn't Moss laid down the law? The NWT Fire Protection Act empowers him to "set requirements to ensure compliance with the National Building Code, National Fire Code and National Standards Directory." He told Yellowknifer last year that if the mall fails to comply with the order in time it could face a fine of up to $10,000 under the territorial Fire Prevention Act and possible jail time of up to one year.

Yet nothing has happened.

Let's say this issue was one in which the mall was being prevented from making money, management would be writing letters to city council. A company representative would show up at a council meeting to plead the mall's case or demand action.

It's time for the mall's owners to come clean. If they are dodging wheelchair ramp construction because the number of users is too small and the cost is considered unacceptable, then make that publicly known. At least then the public can judge the resistance for what it appears to be - a financial decision.

Small businesses come and go, facing the challenges of establishing a strong client base, keeping employees and offering products or services that are valuable to the community.

Over the past few weeks, two staple businesses in Yellowknife have celebrated milestones.

Office Compliments has been a long-standing business for 25 years, started by three women with a vision. The business offers office services, had the first public fax services in the territory, and has found temporary or permanent work for more than 1,000 people over the years.

The Yellowknife Direct Charge Co-op celebrates this year as well. It started from humble beginnings as a buying club based out of a kitchen and 30 flourishing years later, the Co-op has approximately 55-thousand-square-feet at its location on Old Airport Road and about 4,200 household members.

Both of these businesses beat the odds.

According to Industry Canada, the survival rates for small businesses are daunting. About 96 per cent of small businesses that enter the marketplace survive for one full year, 85 per cent last for three years and 70 per cent still exist for five years. The survival is dependent on factors such as geography, type of industry, the state of the economy and the level of competition.

Building a business doesn't happen overnight, and both Office Compliments and Yellowknife Co-op are proof that a dream, high standards and determination are ingredients for success. Evolving with technology and the demands of customers are the ingredients for staying power.

What's wrong with the world we live in today?

It's a question asked more and more these days.

In fact, it's right up there with people wondering why more isn't done at the community level these days, especially considering how much of an average paycheque is taken in various taxes.

People also seem to wonder a lot more about why the gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen, and why they should bother voting on election days.

Has some form of delusion struck the masses, or does an ever-growing segment of our population today seem only concerned with what's in it for them?

Unfortunately, the higher up the social food chain one goes, the more truthful that sentiment seems to become.

Nunavut continued its woeful record of people in power either falling from grace or using their position to try and better their own personal finances this past week.

When Human Resources Minister Fred Schell was found guilty of influence peddling by the integrity commissioner, he became but the latest in an ever-growing number of territorial leaders to find themselves in trouble for trying to use their position for personal gain.

Schell was an MLA in 2009 when he sent a threatening, ill-advised e-mail to a local Community and Government Services official concerning the Hamlet of Cape Dorset allegedly having an unpaid bill with his company.

Three other allegations against Schell were dismissed by the commissioner.

Attitude and perception, like most things in life, start at the top and make their way downhill.

And while it's true this type of behaviour is being reported in locales across the nation at an alarming rate, Nunavut seems to be trying to set some sort of record for the most violations in the shortest possible period of time.

It's almost time for communities to fundraise by holding a lottery on who will be the next person in a position of power, trust and/or authority to be caught with their nose buried in the public trough.

And, make no mistake about it, influence peddling is a far more serious assault on the public's trust than the commissioner's recommendation of a $500 fine and an apology would suggest.

That's especially true in a territory with non-party politics that functions, or becomes totally dysfunctional, with consensus government.

The time has come for a zero-tolerance approach in Nunavut when it comes to elected officials trying to feather their own nests with the power given to them by voters.

The cultural consideration of second chances aside, Nunavut has already lost too much -- and stands to lose far more in the future -- if this type of inappropriate behaviour is not eliminated.

A $500 fine and an apology. Please! These people make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in these jobs.

If they're willing to gamble that by peddling influence, misusing credit cards or using inside information to obtain an advantage for their own businesses, are they really the type of leaders you want making decisions that directly impact your life?

What human resources department in the country would keep someone with those types of violations on their work history?

OK, bad example!!

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