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Few people want Internet predators and terrorists to operate with impunity but it's hard to ignore warnings from the NWT's privacy commissioner about the Conservative government's Internet access bill, which she calls "scary stuff."

Elaine Keenan Bengts was one of 13 privacy commissioners - which, in Canada, is all of them - who signed a joint letter sent last year to William Baker, the deputy minister of Public Safety, expressing concern over Bill C-52, an early incarnation of Bill C-30, the so-called Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act.

If passed by Parliament, the act would allow any police officer to go to an Internet provider and open a person's Internet records without a warrant, as long as it takes place under "exceptional circumstances." Just what those exceptional circumstances might be has been the subject of considerable debate.

In their letter, the privacy commissioners argued there is "insufficient justification for the new powers; that other, less intrusive alternatives can be explored."

That was before Public Safety Minister Vic Toews drew his infamous line in the sand last month, blindly insisting in the House of Commons that anyone who is against the bill is "with the child pornographers."

Based on Toews' statement, we have to presume that would include Jennifer Stoddart, whom the Conservative government re-appointed as Canada's privacy commissioner in December 2010. She was a signatory of the March 9, 2011 letter to Baker, and as privacy commissioner, will be the official Toews tasks with ensuring police and other security officials are not overstepping their authority when investigating people's Internet accounts.

"The privacy commissioner may, on reasonable notice, conduct an audit of the practices of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or the Commissioner of Competition to ensure compliance," is how the bill reads.

Eleven years ago, a Yellowknife entrepreneur installed security cameras around the outside of a prominent landmark downtown. He thought he was providing a public service, having cameras trained on sidewalks and streets with the goal of capturing any crimes that might take place there.

"If you have nothing to hide you should feel relieved," the entrepreneur said, oblivious to the instinctive revulsion people naturally feel upon learning that strangers have been snooping on them without their consent.

George Radwanski, federal privacy commissioner at the time, weighed in, ruling that these particular security cameras in Yellowknife broke privacy rules and must come down - even though the entrepreneur had already done so weeks before.

The reaction from the public had been fierce and swift when word of the cameras got out. Most people are law-abiding and while they have nothing to hide, don't like being spied on - even if the stated aim is to make it easier to catch criminals.

That citizens across the country are reacting the same way to Bill C-30 is hardly a surprise, and no amount of bluster about siding with the pedophiles will change that.

Many families and individuals own at least one snowmobile. The snowmobiles vary as much as their usage, ranging from older, slower less-powerful machines to new, high-powered models.

Snowmobiles are used for touring, transportation, wood hauling, checking traplines, competing and just general winter entertainment. The fact snowmobiles are so ingrained into Deh Cho life is one reason residents of Fort Simpson should take notice of what the Village of Fort Simpson is doing.

The village council is in the midst of creating a new bylaw to regulate the use and operation of all-terrain vehicles including everything from four-wheelers to snowmobiles. The draft of the bylaw is still being altered but its draft version, which passed first and second reading on Feb. 20, included some potentially contentious changes.

The change likely to draw the most attention is the inclusion of age-based requirements for the usage of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) within municipal boundaries. In the first draft of the bylaw, no one under the age of 14 can drive an ATV. Any unaccompanied person under the age of 14 caught using an ATV could face a $500 fine and the vehicle could be seized for 15 days.

The bylaw calls for youths – between the ages of 14 and 16 – to be accompanied by an adult with at least five years experience operating an ATV. People ages 16 and older can use an ATV without restrictions. Members of the council are sure to soon be dealing with multiple objections to the age limits. The bylaw, however, has raised a good question. Have residents and parents become too complacent about the age at which youths are allowed to drive snowmobiles unaccompanied? It's not uncommon to see youths, sometimes groups of them, driving snowmobiles without an adult. Should this be an accepted practice?

Let's be frank, as snowmobiles get more and more powerful, the chance for serious injury increases. Hopefully parents are teaching their children safe snowmobile practices before they hand over the keys. However, children and teens being what they are, it is sometimes difficult to prevent them from riding away without adult supervision.

Many will argue it's not the village's place to impose an age limit on ATV use. Before too many objections are raised, residents and parents need to take a serious look at the current snowmobile and ATV practices and decide if they are stringent enough to keep the community's children safe. Snowmobiles are a part of life in the Deh Cho, but lax regulations shouldn't allow them to end a life either.

There are constant reminders from Skills Canada that there's a huge shortage of people working in skilled trades, but Inuvik is moving in the right direction to nurture the skills of today's youth and tomorrow's workers by hosting the annual skills competition for the fourth year and paving the way for skills to hit a stronger chord with youth at the new school next year.

The intense concentration and passion which existed at each event at the annual regional skills competition, touted as a one-day, Olympic-style competition, is proof that the interest in skilled trades is alive in the Beaufort Delta and Sahtu regions.

Some of the skills are offered at Samuel Hearne Secondary School, such as traditional sewing, cooking and baking. Next year, the focus of education will encompass trades and crafts even more with the facilities available at the new super school.

At a recent information session concerning the new facility, a portion of the high school's downstairs area was described as having an open, interior gathering space with rooms feeding onto that space, available to be used for different programs: practising music, cooking and baking, even a room dedicated to hairstyling and aesthetics. This creates a foundation for a broad spectrum of classes and offers an opportunity for the introduction and continuation of skilled trades in the high school alongside other academics and sports.

Watching a girl meaningfully place every blonde curl in place in an evening up-do; students' nimble fingers weave needles and thread through tough seal skins for a full day to create traditional mittens; and 16-year-old bakers whip, knead and mold cream and dough for four major projects over the course of six hours in the school's kitchen leaves no doubt as to the devotion and eagerness involved in each skill at the annual competition.

The nurturing of trades in the NWT paves a road for youth to stay and work in the territory. Offering a haven for skills to be worked over, developed and mastered sends the message that these skills and the careers they involve are worthwhile endeavours.

It is part of the school's mandate – to help form well-rounded people who don't have to look elsewhere to do something they love.

October seems a long ways off, but for those aspiring to be Yellowknife's next mayor, the upcoming seven-and-a-half months are all that's left to convince citizens that they're the best person for the job.

Incumbent Gord Van Tighem announced that he's not seeking a fifth term in office on Jan. 31.

After 12 years under his leadership, the city will need someone else's guiding hand after the Oct. 15 municipal election.

To date, we have one official contender. Tim Doyle, the executive director of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, made his intentions known earlier this month. The 37-year-old has been quite vocal in his opposition to rising taxes in Yellowknife. Property taxes have climbed for eight consecutive years in this city. He's also been a face of the movement calling for an addictions treatment centre as Yellowknife's downtown has been struggling with dysfunctional individuals and businesses fleeing for uptown.

Doyle, for better or worse, has no experience as a member of Yellowknife city council.

There are two existing councillors who may be interested in auditioning for the mayor's role.

Van Tighem has expressed his confidence in deputy mayor Mark Heyck.

"He now does similar things nationally to what I do," Van Tighem told Yellowknifer. "He's developing a reputation, and that's what Yellowknife needs ... and he's young, enthusiastic, local."

Despite the praise - which seems to indicate Heyck can be expected to follow the course Van Tighem has charted -- Heyck said he's still weighing his options. Coun. Paul Falvo may also test the waters, but has not made a public commitment yet.

Will the city be looking for radical change in October or a leader similar to the one we've had for more than a decade?

It's hard to predict, but the more personalities and choices we have, the better off we will be.

There is no question Yellowknifers rely heavily on use of the Internet, cellphones and other telecommunication technology in their everyday lives. There is also no question that the cost of providing those services is higher in the North than in southern jurisdictions.

Since the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ended NorthwesTel's monopoly of the 867 area code in December, we thought there would soon be a benefit to consumers from competition.

On Feb. 10 an announcement from telecommunications giant Telus pointed in that direction. Telus launched a new service featuring the fastest mobile wireless technology currently available in the world. Telus can offer this service because it has a network sharing agreement with NorthwesTel's parent company, Bell Canada.

Yet, Internet service providers in Yellowknife who want to compete with NorthwesTel are still waiting for a CRTC ruling on a NorthwesTel appeal of a previous CRTC request for NorthwesTel to justify the price it charges wholesale customers, like SSI Micro and Tamarack Computers, for use of its fibre-optic connection to the south. Instead of providing the cost study, NorthwesTel created a new Internet service to the south it says fulfills the wishes of its wholesale customers.

There was a Feb. 23 deadline for comments to the CRTC on NorthwesTel's appeal. So now the ball is in the CRTC's court. In the meantime, wholesalers are paying an expensive month-to-month fee to use NorthwesTel's connection. Normally, it can take months for the CRTC to deliberate and make a ruling. We hope the regulator recognizes that there is an urgent need for it to take action and that it will rule on the appeal quickly.

It's easy to make decisions based on how you think things should work.

Unfortunately, in the real world, things don't often go as people think they should.

Necessity sometimes leads to risky decisions being made based on presumptions.

And it doesn't matter if those making the decisions are presuming people will act properly in any given situation.

At the end of the day, risky decisions have to come with proper fail-safes, or you're setting someone up for what could be a mighty big fall.

Add an emotional sport that can see the most gentle, soft-spoken of people turn into a raging lunatic once they hit the ice, and you had better surround risky decisions dependent upon human behaviour with a number of safeguards.

If someone wants to look at the world through rose-coloured glasses, that's their prerogative.

But when they decide to put boys and girls on the ice playing full-contact hockey, they're opening Pandora's Box as wide as it can go.

I've been around the game of hockey my entire life.

And, while I have no interest in female hockey, I fully support the game and admire those who play.

That being said, being involved with the game for almost half a century, I also firmly believe girls should not play contact hockey with boys at any time.

The risks of injury are just too high. And this is not only about injury. No matter how perfect some may want it to be, today's world is a long way from that lofty goal.

Never has the harsh spotlight of criticism shone more brightly on the game of hockey than during this era.

Ignore, if you choose, that there are some in our society who have a hard time following the rules of proper conduct when it comes to the opposite sex.

Even then, there are innocent situations born from habit that can land someone in hot water very quickly.

There are many communities in which boys only play hockey against boys.

And, like all human beings, they develop habits that don't come with an on/off switch for special occasions.

A simple tap on the bum for a good game or touching foreheads after a win can quickly become grievous if taken out of context.

If we are to buy into boys need girls on the same ice to play real games, two things have to happen.

The first is to eliminate body-checking from all mixed-gender games.

It doesn't matter if it's high calibre, house league or the I-can-hardly-stand-up circuit.

Second is the old reliable: education.

Yes, it's a tough subject and not one that everyone's comfortable with.

But if teenage boys and girls are going to play hockey, boundaries must be set and proper conduct taught.

And it has to be continuous so it becomes second-nature to those who play co-ed hockey.

Even during the rush after the big win, proper protocols such as no bum patting have to be front and centre, and that's just scratching the surface.

To those who think it's all too much effort over a little game of hockey, think of the effort needed to deal with a youngster who's been accused of inappropriate behaviour, perceived or otherwise.

For more than four decades circumpolar nations have been gathering every two years to showcase and celebrate their athletics and cultures.

As Team NWT enters the final week of preparation for the 2012 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, the anticipation is mounting. From March 4 to 10, all eyes will be on our athletes and performers, not only to revel in their performances but to see how they serve as ambassadors to their home communities and territory.

In 2010, following the games in Grande Prairie, Alta., Team NWT returned home laden with 107 ulus -- 31 gold, 28 silver and 48 bronze -- good enough for a third overall finish.

This year many athletes will strive to improve on that record, hoping to don an ulu during the award ceremonies. As exciting as victory is, officials at Sport North will not be measuring success in medals, but in team conduct -- sportsmanship being a more valuable currency than the reward for a top-three placement.

With that in mind, Doug Rentmeister, executive director with Sport North, has his sights set on this year's Hodgson Trophy, which goes to the contingent "whose athletes best exemplify the ideals of fair play and team spirit," according to the Arctic Winter Games website.

Since the inception of the award in 1978, Team NWT has won the honour twice, in 1992 and 1996.

Another measure of success has nothing to do with our performance at the events, but how well the team represents the demographics of the NWT.

In past years, Team NWT has successfully promoted more community involvement at the games. While the 21 communities represented at the games this year is fewer than in 2010, Rentmeister said the level of involvement from each community is significantly higher.

Whereas communities were sending one or two athletes to past games, Rentmeister said communities such as Fort McPherson and Deline have "tremendous" representation this year.

News/North looks forward to following Team NWT in Whitehorse and we salute the efforts of coaches, athletes, chaperons, volunteers and organizers whom have all made the event possible. The games have been and will continue to be a great way to promote and encourage sport participation in the NWT.

We also are encouraged by Sport North's plans to begin the selection process earlier. An earlier start date provides more opportunity for community athletes to travel to this prestigious event. Rentmeister said the goal, which is largely dependent on funding, will be to begin preparations for the next games as soon as these games end. Getting into more communities earlier will go a long way to not only increase representation but provide a goal for veteran and novice athletes alike to work toward.

During the week of the Arctic Winter Games, Northern News Services will be providing daily coverage of both Team NWT and Team Nunavut.

A lack of sports infrastructure in many communities might make Nunavummiut the natural underdogs in the fast-approaching Arctic Winter Games, but, in sport as much as anything else, ingenuity and heart trump all.

In 2006 in Alaska, Nunavut brought home 75 uluit. In 2008 in Yellowknife that figure went down to 67 medals and in 2010 in Grande Prairie, Alta., it dropped to 49.

Although Nunavut's athletes brought home fewer medals in 2010 than the previous games, that says nothing of our chances this year.

Even if we don't blow by the rest of the North in the medal count, as long as everyone is striving to meet personal bests, we'll have reason to celebrate.

In 2010, our competitors won uluit in ice hockey, many wrestling categories, in even more table tennis categories as well as numerous Arctic games.

Look at the Dene games team from Arctic Bay - the only such team from Nunavut - which started in 2004 and, in 2010, brought home gold, silver and bronze medals after facing teams from places like the NWT, where Dene games are more commonly practised.

When Nunavut's athletes put their minds to it, and put in that effort to master something that might be new to them, they will eventually get there.

There are some fantastic teams from Nunavut heading to Whitehorse next week, and there will be some great opponents from around the circumpolar world there waiting to take them on.

There will also be opportunities to explore Whitehorse and make new friends.

We want the athletes, coaches and parents to know that Nunavut News/North and indeed the territory, stand behind you no matter what medals are brought home.

We've seen the effort the teams have put forward to get this far, and no matter how many medals are earned, that progress can't be erased. It can only be built upon.

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