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The Centre for Northern Families, a long-standing charitable organization in the city, is shifting gears to operate more like a business.

However, the shelter's multiple services and programs are not a business, they are a necessity for numerous women and children.

The centre has been dealing with financial woes for many years. To find more money, staff at the shelter began managing the Wade Hamer mini golf course in 2006. That venture has added more problems than help in recent years due to repeated acts of vandalism during summer months. It resulted in more distractions than beneficial income.

The Centre for Northern Families provides valuable services - offering an accessible emergency shelter for women fleeing violence, a community centre operating a variety of programs from daycare to prenatal classes, a medical clinic and youth and mental health programs open to the community.

Arlene Hache, the shelter's executive director who recently announced her resignation after 20 years, has long maintained that the centre is chronically underfunded. She saw the Centre for Northern Families slide into debt to the tune of $350,000. Hache made it clear to Yellowknifer in 2009 that she felt the GNWT's annual $30,000 in core funding, an amount that hadn't changed since 1995, was far from adequate.

Regardless, the Centre for Northern Families' mandate was, and must remain, to help the most disadvantaged people regain control of their lives.

A good business plan will help maximize the centre's benefits and achieve its objectives, which would be helpful. But what must be remembered is if the centre is in any business at all, it's in the business of taking care of women and their families at any cost.

City council wouldn't tolerate a cab company setting its own rates so why are towing companies allowed to charge whatever they like when bylaw officers call to have a vehicle removed?

The discrepancy seems obvious. When someone needs a taxi they call one knowing they all charge the same rate. You can thank city council for that. Yellowknifer has long argued that the rate a cab company charges ought to be the left to the marketplace but council has decided to keep that prerogative for itself.

However, when it comes to tow trucks, it's an open market, even when a bylaw officer places a call. When the municipal enforcement division wants a vehicle towed its officers have a choice: go with the company that charges $150 plus GST during regular hours or the one that charges $100 more.

It's unclear to us why Age Automotive puts the price of a tow during daylight hours at $150 and DJ's Towing goes with $250 but in the absence of any city hall direction on their rates, that's what they charge.

Asked about the difference in rates and the random process by which the towing companies are available, Mayor Gord Van Tighem didn't offer an explanation - he only said he tries to avoid situations where he'd be towed.

It is up to vehicle owners to make sure they are following the rules of the road but council should make sure the rules - and penalties - are fair.

If the city is using a private service to have vehicles towed it should be put out to tender like any other contractor the city uses.

That way citizens can be assured of equal penalties, a demand which is certainly within reason.

It's encouraging to see the Government of Nunavut (GN) continue to be proactive with trades training.

For more than a decade, training has been the key word in almost every discussion focused on being gainfully employed in the Kivalliq mining industry.

Nunavut Arctic College worked with Baffinland Iron Mines to develop curriculum for its environmental technology diploma and, this past month, the GN entered into a memorandum of understanding with AgnicoEagle Mines (AEM) Ltd. to help develop its high school trades curriculum.

The new partners will work towards developing mine and tradesrelated curriculum and career-development activities for Nunavut students.

These developments will prove to be a huge boost to Kivalliq students, both at the school and postsecondary levels, especially with the trade school also off to such a fine start in Rankin Inlet.

While it's true it may be too late for AEM's Meadowbank gold mine near Baker Lake, now slated to close in 2017, the curriculum could produce ready-for-employment grads just as the company's Meliadine project kicks into high gear in Rankin.

With the combination of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) being all positive from receiving its first royalty payment of more than $2 million from AEM, and the company insisting it's committed to Nunavut despite its financial struggles at Meadowbank, opportunity should continue to abound for years to come.

And that doesn't even take into account the numerous other mining companies hoping to open shop in the Kivalliq before too long.

No matter how you view it, company involvement with curriculum development is a win-win situation, especially for those who have decided to seek a career in mining or mineral exploration, and those who will in coming years.

All that being said, equally encouraging is the GN forming partnerships with mineral companies in the true sense of the word, not just in ways that use fancy titles to mask the only objective of "give us more money, please."

While it may be seen as a baby step in some quarters, it is, nonetheless, a step in the right direction to ease the perception of Nunavut being such a hard territory, in which to conduct business.

I had the chance to speak with Brian Tobin during the former minister's visit to Rankin more than a decade ago.

He told me although it was early in the game, prime importance had to be placed on the way Nunavut's bureaucracy (GN, regional Inuit associations and NTI) interacted with companies wishing to do business here to ensure the best interests of all were met.

Being from Newfoundland, Tobin was well versed in both sides of that equation.

The Innu were not consulted before their land was used for the Churchill Falls hydroelectric project in 1969, and it flooded vast stretches of their land for which they were never compensated.

Conversely, Inco signed Inuit impact benefit agreements that worked for all parties for the Voisey's Bay nickel-copper-cobalt project.

Today, many of its employees are Inuit or Innu. They took baby steps of partnership and co-operation and now reap the benefits.

Hopefully, we've started down the same path.

In 2001, the GNWT was considering how to improve the way lottery money was doled out to sports programs across the territory.

In 2004, that led to the hotly-contested idea of the Sports and Recreation Council. The council's formation was met with criticism and the biggest opponent at the time was Sport North - the organization formerly charged with power of granting funds.

Sport North was not convinced the new funding body would create the efficiencies the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) believed it would.

In essence, the Sports and Recreation Council was to become an overarching entity enveloping the various governing sport bodies - Aboriginal Sport Circle of the Western Arctic, Beaufort Delta Sahtu Recreation Association, Mackenzie Recreation Association, Sport North and NWT Recreation and Parks Association. Bringing the partners together under the council was expected to create the perception of improved objectivity when granting program funding.

In 2004, MACA also said there was significant duplication in the system and the new council would eliminate program and administration redundancies within the sport delivery system, subsequently freeing more money for program delivery and enhancing athlete and coach development.

The plan was also to bring all the partners together into one central office, which was expected to free up some $450,000 in administration costs that could be redirected to sport funding.

According to the Sports and Recreation Council, moves were made in 2011 to achieve that goal but were sidelined due to disagreements with their sport partners. The council then shifted gears to develop its own strategic plan and monitoring, evaluation and accountability framework. That process cost nearly $350,000.

So it's now eight years later and the council has not met expectations.

The Sports and Recreation Council's statement of operation for 2011 shows the council's revenue was a little more than $3 million.

Operation funding to the other sport partners were provided through the sport council as follows: Aboriginal Sport Circle of the NWT - $340,000; Beaufort Delta Sahtu Recreation Association - $145,000; Mackenzie Recreation Association - $190,000; NWT Recreation and Parks Association - $402,000; Sport North Federation - $1,649,000.

The Sport and Recreation Council's annual report states: "Organizations were provided with funding provided based on allocations toward staff, office, board/committee, professional fees, and contributions to others. No program funding was provided to organizations this year; however, organizations could use the funds for areas of importance based on their own strategic plan."

That puts total administration costs for the five major sports agencies at $2.7 million.

A recent third-party review stated there were concerns of "inherent bias or misrepresentation" in the application assessment process. That's not to say there is bias or misrepresentation but, unfortunately, it is exactly that perception the council was designed to improve.

Also, since the council's inception, administrative streamlining has yet to be achieved. In fact, the Sports and Recreation Council occupies its own offices and phone lines, and can be argued is a purely administrative body. Tack on salary, utility and operation inflation and we expect the money going into running the system is taking a significant cut of what could be used for programs.

Creating another level of bureaucracy and increasing staff makes little sense. Had the administrative amalgamation taken place as it was intended, an argument could be made that the objectivity issue could be easily resolved with amended policies, something Todd Shafer, the council's executive director, stated has already been addressed.

However, while the administrative redundancies persist, the Sports and Recreation Council experiment can be considered a failure. Sports programs would have been better served by improving the old model with Sport North.

The last two months in Nunavut have been marred by terrible violence. Lives have been forever altered, and two lives have been brought to an end.

On March 18, a man was arrested for shooting at the homes of RCMP officers in Kimmirut. Another man was shot and killed in Iglulik two days later, after allegedly making threats and wielding a weapon during a confrontation with police.

Less than a month later, on April 16, a Cape Dorset man was charged in the death of a teenager and with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, among others. Three days later, in Iqaluit, an armed standoff at Iqaluit's hospital ended, thankfully, without anyone getting hurt. Eight days after that, an Arviat man was shot and injured after allegedly shooting at stray dogs in the community with a stolen police handgun.

Addictions and mental health problems have been suggested in connection with some of these incidents but details have yet to come to light. Still, it doesn't take a professional to link violence to pent up anger, other mental health issues or addictions. Obviously, people are suffering and in need of help.

Confronting an angry person about their anger is difficult and family and friends are too often inclined to remain silent and avert conflict. But these people in distress need help, somehow, or else the violence we see so unbearably often will continue, in fits and starts, or in runs like we've seen recently. Then, of course, in the wake of violence, more anger and sadness is born, setting the stage for future violence.

The GN can't afford to have complete mental health services in every community in the territory, and even if they could, staffing these positions would be just as difficult as keeping any other specialized medical staff in the North. Medical professionals come up in stints and return south, except for the odd case where a doctor or nurse makes the North their home.

Who else is left to try and deal with mental health issues but the people for whom the North is home? It is unfair to expect Nunavummiut to bear the responsibility alone of preventing violence in our communities but there are things we can do. If we don't take charge, there's no one else to step in and do it.

Look at your friends and family for signs of anger, for signs of mental health issues that might be coming to a head. If it seems to be a reasonable option, encourage them to talk it out with someone or try to talk it out with them yourself. If the situation is too far gone for that and things are getting violent, call the police before weapons come out. Keep any guns that you control locked up and out of reach. Do anything possible to try and break the cycle of anger and violence.

It's important to move past violence and continue with our lives, but to continue as if nothing has happened, and not try to make positive change to prevent future violence, is just biding time until it happens again.

Holding a placard reading, 'Marijuana is a plant, not a poison,' Yellowknife's Kim MacNearney stood by herself on Franklin Avenue on April 20.

Of course she is not alone. Although nobody joined her demonstration that day, many people quietly use marijuana - including professionals such as doctors, lawyers, teachers and even police officers.

Canada was recognized as number one on pot use in the industrialized world when the United Nations released a report in 2007. It showed that 16.8 per cent of Canadians had admitted to using marijuana or other cannabis products in 2004.

In 2001, it became legal for those with a licence to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. MacNearney, 35, is one of those people, suffering from chronic back pain.

According to Health Canada's website, 4,884 people were authorized to possess marijuana as a form of medicine as of January 2010.

One man who approached MacNearney on the street said he too uses the drug, without a licence, because it's the difference between being functional and non-functional in coping with his own back problems.

Without a prescription from a doctor, he runs the risk of being arrested. In Canada, possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana is punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a fine of $1,000. Many days of court time are used each year as judges hand out fines of a few hundred dollars and admonish everyday people for having an illegal drug. Police invest time and devote officers to chasing after those having small amounts of marijuana.

It's a wasted effort and wasted money, costing the justice system close to $150 million nationally each year to prosecute marijuana offences, according to some estimates.

According to a witness at a trial held in Yellowknife in May, the Hells Angels were involved in supplying a large quantity of marijuana and cocaine to Yellowknife. Making marijuana illegal drives it underground. If it's not controlled by the government, it puts distribution in the hands of the criminal element.

It's not like pot is sold as a "starter kit" by biker gangs and drug lords - they're in it for the profit.

For those who make the link between smoking marijuana and the use of harder drugs, not even a senate committee that examined the issue found any conclusive evidence that pot is a "gateway" drug. The most commonly used drug in the world, alcohol, causes far more crime than marijuana.

Marijuana is not without drawbacks. It does temporarily impair cognitive abilities, making it dangerous to drive. It increases the risk of cancer and other lung ailments, as cigarettes do. It causes some users to have feelings of paranoia and hallucinations, particularly in larger doses.

For those with chronic pain, it's sometimes a better and more effective alternative to pharmaceuticals that come with a disturbing list of their own potential side effects.

Medicinal marijuana should lead us to keeping an open mind on the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of the drug for any citizen.

We often think of pot smokers as having clouded thoughts, but it's really those who stand vehemently opposed to the drug's use that are not thinking straight.

It's encouraging to see that the Nahanni Butte Dene Band has signed an agreement with Selwyn Chihong Mining Ltd.

The resource funding agreement will provide the First Nation with funds so it can negotiate with the company on a larger community agreement. There are a number of reasons the signing can be viewed as a positive development.

Firstly, as Chief Fred Tesou noted, the community of Nahanni Butte needs resources. Nahanni Butte is similar to other small communities in the Deh Cho or for that matter in the territory. There simply aren't enough jobs in the community to employ all the residents who want to work.

By signing the resource funding agreement and working towards a larger agreement, the band is taking active steps to try and secure economic and job opportunities for the community.

The signing is also a positive development because it is an example of a well-rounded approach to resource development. The Howard Pass access road, located in the Yukon, that connects the mine with the Yukon highway system already exists and runs through a portion of the band's traditional land use area.

Tesou said the community recognizes that because the creation of the road can't be stopped, the next option is to work together with the company and Parks Canada to protect the land, water and animals surrounding the roadway. Through the negotiations the band is looking to secure economic opportunities but not at the expense of protecting the natural world. It's a balancing act that has been difficult to reach in the Deh Cho and is still being perfected.

In the future, other First Nations in the Deh Cho will be able to turn to Nahanni Butte for advice on how to keep that balance between protection and development. The Deh Cho is rich in natural resources and, sooner or later, more companies will be looking to draw from those riches.

Deh Cho communities should be able to benefit from those future developments without selling out the values that are important to them. Nahanni Butte is exploring how that can be done. There will likely be a few missteps and occasions where hard lessons will be learned, but along the way, the community will be providing an example that others will be able to learn from and expand on.

It's better to celebrate the past than to dwell on what used to be.

That is the attitude adopted by those preparing to mark the upcoming closures of Sir Alexander Mackenzie School and Samuel Hearne Secondary School (SHSS).

The event organizers, including SAMS' Ruby St. Amand and Angela Young from SHSS, are planning the final send off for the two major Inuvik landmarks.

The organizers are not lamenting the destruction of the buildings, nor questioning the new super school, the second-biggest infrastructure on the GNWT's books. Rather, the closing activities for the schools aim to focus on the good times had in the school, allowing the community to say goodbye and move forward.

This kind of optimism is something that Inuvik could use more of. There is little doubt the economies of Canada's High Arctic are struggling. The proposed pipeline, upon which so many dreams of prosperity were hung, is in limbo. Drilling companies that once operated in the Beaufort Delta have long-since gone. And let's not even get in to the town's energy issues.

It's easy to be pessimistic and think about what was supposed to happen, what was going to happen, what did happen and what is not happening anymore, but that's just not going to do any good.

It's time for the nay-sayers to take the schools' lead and make a conscious choice to celebrate the past and embrace the future. One last hurrah for old time's sake. Then, when the party is over, it's time to move on.

For some people in Inuvik, the steady stream of bad news has them ready to throw in the towel and get out of town. But could Inuvik really ever be deserted? What would that mean for those who stay behind, for the generations of people who have made a life here, and for our country's claim on the Arctic?

Maybe, once the schools are levelled and the promise of major projects like the Inuvik-to-Tuk highway get underway, it will be easier to see what the future of this place will look like.

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